To Open The Sky
The Front Pages of Christopher P. Winter
A Nation At Risk
4 March 2025
Never believe that autocracy cannot happen in America. It may already be taking root.
The Autocracy Team Takes Root
"Simple Promises for Simple People"
In the year 1983, the United States National Commission on Excellence in Education issued its report. That report, titled A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform, is considered a landmark in the history of American education. The report was primarily authored by James J. Harvey, who wrote, "the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a People... If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war."
Today, 45 days into Trump's second term, the things his administration is doing again place our nation at risk. Here I will summarize a few of them. Read through these summaries and think about what they mean. Who in today's world would benefit from them? Who and what would be put in jeopardy?
| Trump 21 January 2025 |
Signs order giving temporary security clearances to staffers whose background checks have not been completed. |
| Meeting in Oval Office 31 January 2025 |
Trump & Vance host President Zelenskiy at televised meeting to discuss deal for Ukraine. Trump and Vance berate their guest for not being grateful enough, expel him from the White House. No deal is reached. Brian Glenn of Real America's Voice asks President Zelenskiy why he doesn't wear a suit. Although Reuters and AP are barred from the meeting, a reporter from the Russian news agency Tass is present. |
| Trump 1 February 2025 |
Trump fires the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Rohit Chopra. |
| Pam Bondi 5 February 2025 |
Her first day on the job, Trump's Attorney General disbands the Foreign Influence Task Force, a unit that investigates violations of the Foreign Agents Surveillance Act. She disbands Task Force KleptoCapture, started in 2022 to enforce sanctions on Russia. She halts a years-old law enforcement effort to combat secret influence campaigns by China, Russia, and other nations that sow chaos in American elections. |
| John Ratcliffe 5 February 2025 |
To comply with a Trump directive, the CIA sends list of recently hired CIA employees to White House OPM over an unclassified channel. |
| Pete Hegseth 7 February 2025 |
On orders of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, news organizations such as CNN, The Hill and others are removed from the press workspaces at the Pentagon and replaced with "more friendly outlets" such as Newsmax and the Daily Caller. |
| Emil Bove 10 February 2025 |
On behalf of Pam Bondi, Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove orders the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, to dismiss pending criminal charges against New York City mayor Eric Adams. |
| Pete Hegseth 12 February 2025 |
Visiting Europe, Hegseth says it's "unrealistic" for Ukraine to expect regaining its pre-2014 borders, or to join NATO. |
| Trump 13 February 2025 |
Trump says Russia should be readmitted to the G7 group of nations. Its 2014 invasion of Ukraine was the reason it was expelled. |
| Steve Witkoff 16 February 2025 |
Trump's Middle East envoy visits Moscow, meets with Putin for 3 to 5 hours, returns to say Russia was "provoked" into invading Ukraine; cannot name any concessions Russia expects to make in peace deal. |
| Trump 18 February 2025 |
Reacting to President Zelenskiy's comment that Trump lives in "a disinformation space," Trump falsely calls him a dictator and claims his approval rating is 4 percent (it's around 57%.) |
| Elon Musk 19 February 2025 |
Edward Coristine, a nineteen-year-old employee of DOGE, is installed at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Under the handle "Rivage," Coristine has a history of interacting with a cybercrime syndicate known as "The Com." |
| Trump, Hegseth 21 February 2025 |
Trump dismisses Charles Q. Brown Jr. from the post of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, nominating retired Air Force Lt. Gen. John Dan "Razin" Caine to take his place. Hegseth dismisses Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the Chief of the Navy, and General James Slife. |
| Trump 22 February 2025 |
Preparations begin for a visit by Putin to Washington, DC for a summit conference. |
| Trump 25 February 2025 |
Trump announces a new "gold card" visa program, similar to the green card but costing $5 million per visa. |
| Trump 24 February 2025 |
On this date, third anniversary of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, the UN General Assembly passes two resolutions condemning Russia's aggression and calling for it to withdraw from Ukraine. The United States voted against the resolution which mentioned Russia as the aggressor, then abstained from voting on its own resolution after it had been amended to include that statement. |
| Trump administration 26 February 2025 |
First agency subjected to funding freezes and massive cuts is USAID. "Russia Welcomes USAID Cuts, Calls Agency 'Machine for Interfering'." – Moscow Times. A federal judge orders the funds restored, but the Supreme Court overrules him. Trump posts AI-generated video showing a commercialized, westernized version of Gaza. |
| State Department 28 February 2025 |
The program that rebuilds Ukrainian power grid facilities after they are damaged by Russian attacks is ended. |
| Pete Hegseth 2 March 2025 |
Defense Secretary orders U.S. Cyber Command to halt offensive operations against Russia. |
| Senator Markwayne Mullins 2 March 2025 |
Mullins suggests it's no longer in US interest to remain a member of NATO. |
| John Ratcliffe 5 March 2025 |
The CIA Director pauses intelligence sharing with Ukraine, saying that Trump had asked him to do so. |
| Homeland Security 8 March 2025 |
Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent resident of the US, is detained in Louisiana pending deportation. Pro-Palestinian advocacy is the only basis for his deportation. |
| Trump 18 March 2025 |
Trump fires FTC commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter. |
| Trump 20 March 2025 |
Trump signs an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin dismantling the United States Department of Education. |
| Hegseth 24 March 2025 |
Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, reveals he was added to a 15 March group chat on Signal between several members of Trump's cabinet. Although Hegseth shared details of an imminent war mission against the Houthis in Yemen, he insists no classified information was disclosed. It was later found that such chats were routine, and that Hegseth also discussed the mission with his wife, his brother, and his lawyer. |
| Marco Rubio 27 March 2025 |
Secretary of State Rubio announces the revocation of at least 300 student visas, many held by people who expressed support for Palestinians. |
| Trump 30 March 2025 |
Trump says he is considering an attempt to bypass the 22nd amendment and seek a third presidential term. |
| Trump 2 April 2025 |
In what he calls "Liberation Day", Trump announces a baseline 10% universal tariff on all goods brought into the US, to take effect on 5 April. |
| Americans 5 April 2025 |
Millions of citizens across the country protest Trump's policies in the "Hands Off" demonstrations. Held at over 1,400 locations in all 50 states, the demonstrations involved 3 to 5 million people. |
| Trump 9 April 2025 |
Trump announces on Truth Social that reciprocal tariffs above 10%, which had gone into effect that morning, will be paused for 90 days for all countries except China; China's minimum tariff rate will instead be increased to 145%. |
| Trump 11 April 2025 |
Trump visits the METU Suite of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland for his annual physical examination. |
| Scott Bessent 30 April 2025 |
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko sign the Ukraine-United States Mineral Resources Agreement. |
| Trump 1 May 2025 |
Trump issues an executive order requiring the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to end direct and indirect funding to NPR and PBS to the extent allowed by law. |
| Trump 4 May 2025 |
Trump proposes to reopen Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary for "America's most ruthless and violent offenders." |
| Pete Hegseth 8 May 2025 |
Secretary of Defense Hegseth issues a memorandum that individuals with a current diagnosis or history of gender dysphoria (GD), or who exhibit symptoms consistent with GD, are unfit for military service. Service members affected by the policy are given the option to separate voluntarily by June 6, 2025, for active duty and July 7, 2025, for reservists—after which involuntary separation procedures would begin. |
| RFK Jr 22 May 2025 |
The Make America Healthy Again Commission releases the 78-page "Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment." Within days, the document is found to have major errors. Seven cited sources do not exist, and at least 37 footnotes contain the marker "oaicite", which indicates the use of OpenAI. A corrected version fixes the old errors but introduces new ones. In addition, experts criticize its approach and conclusions. |
| Elon Musk 28 May 2025 |
Musk ends his involvement with DOGE and returns to managing his companies. The US Court of Trade blocks most of the administration's tariffs. The Trump regime freezes VISA applications and pauses foreign student enrollments at Harvard. |
| Marco Rubio 29 May 2025 |
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces that the US will "aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students." The move is seen as a major escalation of tensions with Beijing, and another blow to American higher education institutions. |
| Trump 6 June 2025 |
Protests against immigration raids begin in Los Angeles, with protesters clashing with local police and federal agents at the Metropolitan Detention Center and multiple federal buildings. As the protests continue into the following day, expanding into Paramount and Compton, Trump nationalizes the California National Guard and deploys 2,000 members to the protest. California Governor Gavin Newsom criticizes Trump's actions and requests his order be rescinded. Trump threatens to deploy U.S. Marines into the city and "have troops everywhere" if the protests do not end. |
| Trump 10 June 2025 |
After Trump deploys 700 Marines from Twentynine Palms to Los Angeles, Governor Newsom criticizes the mobilization of the military, stating that "democracy is under assault before our eyes." Mayor Karen Bass declares a local state of emergency and announces a curfew in parts of downtown Los Angeles from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. PDT. |
| Trump 13 June 2025 |
As the Trump regime seeks to restart negotiations with Iran, Israel's premiere Netanyahu launches 12 days of air strikes on Iran. |
| Trump 14 June 2025 |
Trump holds a military parade in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Continental Army and, not coincidentally, his 79th birthday. "No Kings" protests occur across the nation in opposition to many of his policies, as well as an assumed connection between the parade and the President's birthday. |
| Trump 20 June 2025 |
Trump announces on Truth Social that he and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio have successfully brokered a peace treaty between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda in their war. This is untrue; the war continues. |
| Trump 21 June 2025 |
Joining Netanyahu's attack on Iran, Trump orders "Operation Midnight Hammer" in an attempt to destroy Iran's nuclear sites. Trump crows that the sites were "completely eradicated," but experts conclude this is not true. |
| Trump 3 July 2025 |
Trump initiates the year-long America 250 celebrations with a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. |
| Trump 4 July 2025 |
Trump signs the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law at a ceremony at the White House during Independence Day celebrations. |
| SCCOTUS 14 July 2025 |
The Supreme Court allows Trump to lay off more than 1,300 employees at the Department of Education. |
| Trump 17 July 2025 |
Trump denies a report from the Wall Street Journal saying he sent a bawdy letter to Epstein for his birthday in 2003. He threatens to sue if the newspaper publishes the letter. The newspaper publishes the letter. |
| Trump 18 July 2025 |
Trump signs the bipartisan cryptocurrency GENIUS Act into law, as well as the rescissions package for PBS, NPR and USAID. |
| Trump 22 July 2025 |
Trump withdraws the United States from UNESCO. |
| Trump 31 July 2025 |
Trump announces $200M White House ballroom construction starting in September. |
| Trump 1 August 2025 |
Trump fires Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner Erika McEntarfer, alleging she politically interfered with an employment report showing slowing jobs growth. |
References
- A Nation at Risk (Wikipedia, 7 January 2025)
- Who's that good for? (Rachel Maddow, MSNBC, 1 March 2025)
- All of the Trump Administration's Major Moves in the First [43] Days (Karen Yourish, Eric Rabinowitz, Ashley Wu, Lazaro Gamio, Aishvarya Kavi & Minho Kim, New York Times, 4 March 2025)
- Hegseth Orders Pentagon to Stop Offensive Cyberoperations Against Russia (Julian E. Barnes, David E. Sanger & Helene Cooper, New York Times, 2 March 2025)
