Understanding Donald Trump

During his first presidency, I was irked by almost everything he said. Little did I know that the liberal-leaning media's representation of Donald Trump had given me a rather distorted image of who he truly is.

Fast forward to 2024: I withdrew from mainstream media (MSM) as my primary news source, and that shift provided a sense of clarity I wish I'd had 20 years earlier.

Critics, including the MSM, have painted Trump as an authoritarian, incompetent child, among other unwarranted labels. However, what I now see is a businessman who relies on shock value and grandiosity to achieve his goals.

Case in point: As the Russo-Ukrainian war raged on from 2022, Trump criticized Europe's defense efforts, highlighting their low expenditures on military capabilities. His persistent pressure convinced many European nations to ramp up their defense budgets. This contributed to NATO's historic commitment in 2025 to increase overall defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, enhancing the alliance's ability to defend itself against adversaries like Russia.

In the ongoing scramble for the Arctic Circle—where Russia has established a stronger presence than other bordering nations—Trump revived his interest in acquiring Greenland from Denmark in late 2024. 

He emphasized its importance for U.S. national security and initially refused to rule out forceful options, famously implying he'd pursue it "the easy way or the hard way." This provoked a strong backlash across Europe, with leaders rebuking the idea and pledging to defend Greenland's sovereignty. Denmark responded by expanding its military presence on the island in 2025, deploying additional troops and inviting allied support from nations like Germany, France, and Norway. 

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met with Trump several times that year to discuss Arctic security, leading to a "framework" agreement by early 2026. Consequently, Trump toned down his rhetoric, explicitly ruling out the use of force and withdrawing threats of tariffs on opposing allies. 

He has employed tariffs in a similar fashion throughout his career, though their long-term effectiveness remains debatable.

Most MSM outlets and critics genuinely believed Trump had overreached with these actions, viewing them as reckless. But I see this as his consistent modus operandi: Start with something shocking to provoke a reaction that ultimately favors your position. By disrupting the status quo, he often extracts concessions that more conventional approaches might not yield.

This realization has reshaped my perspective—from frustration to appreciation for a strategy that's as bold as it is effective in a world of entrenched interests.

The US Illegal Immigration and Sanctuary State Policies Call for Smarter ICE Tactics

Persistent resistance to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in sanctuary cities should be understood as a signal for a recalibration of federal strategy.

When local governments obstruct lawful enforcement, they undermine the rule of law while shifting the economic, security, and social costs of illegal immigration onto tax payers (citizens and legal residents). 

Continuing to rely on confrontational enforcement alone is proving ineffective and politically counterproductive, and has recently been seen to give rise to the Black Panther Party (see Philadelphia Chapter under Paul Birdsong)

A more sustainable approach should focus on administrative, legal, and fiscal leverage, not the drama we are currently witnessing.

First, ICE must clearly distinguish between illegal presence and lawful immigration. Policies that punish legal immigrants—such as freezing naturalization—are counterproductive and unjust. Lawful pathways should remain intact, credible, and respected. However, standards for naturalization should remain rigorous, fraud detection should be aggressive, and violations of immigration law should carry real consequences.

Second, the federal government should avoid internal movement controls or city-level containment strategies. These raise serious constitutional concerns, violate freedom of movement, and risk normalizing internal checkpoints, an idea fundamentally at odds with American civil liberties.

Third, where the federal government does have legitimate leverage is funding and benefits administration. While illegal immigrants are already barred from most federal welfare programs, loopholes and state-level practices often shift costs to taxpayers. Benefit eligibility verification should be strictly enforced, and federal funds should not subsidize policies that deliberately obstruct immigration law enforcement.

Federal assistance should be conditioned on compliance with federal law, not used to offset defiance of it, therefore States and cities that choose non-cooperation should be required to assume the full financial burden of those choices. 

Finally, the broader objective should not be punishment, but restoration of credibility. Immigration systems collapse when laws are selectively enforced. Legal immigrants lose faith, public trust erodes, and political polarization deepens.

Effective immigration policy must balance compassion with enforcement, legality with humanity, and local autonomy with national sovereignty. Sanctuary policies, as currently implemented, fail that balance, and federal strategy ought to evolve accordingly.

The Third Option: Living Between Wealth and Oblivion

There comes a point in adulthood when illusions fall away quietly, not dramatically. Bills replace dreams. Time becomes a resource you ration. Health, once taken for granted, becomes something you actively manage. It is around this stage that a harsh conclusion begins to form: most adult problems can be softened by immense wealth, or silenced entirely by death.

Money buys healthcare, education, shelter, mobility, options. It insulates you from emergencies and reduces the number of humiliations life can impose on you. Death, on the other hand, ends the conversation altogether—no pressure, no fear, no disappointment. Everything simply stops.

These thoughts are not suicidal, nor greedy. They are observational. They arise when one has carried responsibility long enough to understand how unforgiving systems can be.

But lived experience also teaches something else: both of these “solutions” are extremes. One is unattainable for most. The other is irreversible for all. And yet, millions of adults continue waking up each morning—not because life is wonderful, but because there must be another way to exist.

That way is rarely named.

It is the third option: a life with reduced suffering and reasonable comfort.

This option does not promise happiness in the cinematic sense. It does not require luxury, admiration, or constant achievement. It asks instead for sufficiency. Enough income to breathe. Predictable routines. Health that is managed, even if not perfect. Relationships that are steady rather than dramatic. Work that may not inspire passion, but does not consume the soul.

Anyone who has lived long enough knows the value of such things. Peace is found not in abundance, but in reliability. A month without financial panic. A night of uninterrupted sleep. A body that cooperates more often than it rebels. Time that is not entirely owned by someone else.

Philosophers recognised this long before modern adulthood made it fashionable to suffer quietly. Epicurus argued that once pain is removed, pleasure need not be chased. Aristotle spoke of balance and proportion. Stoics focused on limiting how much power external events have over one’s inner life. Buddhism warned against both indulgence and annihilation, pointing instead to a middle way.

What they shared was a modest but radical idea: life does not need to be conquered to be bearable.

The challenge of the third option is that it requires discipline in a world that rewards excess. It requires defining “enough” when everything around you insists that enough is failure. It asks for acceptance without resignation, ambition without obsession, endurance without bitterness.

Most adults oscillate mentally between the fantasy of escape through wealth and the exhaustion of wanting everything to stop. The third option demands something quieter: conscious restraint, lowered but intentional expectations, and the courage to live without extremes.

In the end, adulthood may not be about winning life or escaping it. It may simply be about reducing suffering to a manageable size—small enough to carry, small enough to coexist with moments of meaning.

Between wealth and death lies a narrow, often ignored path. It is not glamorous. It will not trend. But it is livable. And for many, that is more than enough

Why Civilian Gun Ownership Could Play a Positive Role in Preventing Authoritarianism

I used to be strongly opposed to civilian gun ownership for reasons that still make sense to me today. But over time, I’ve also seen how political systems can become compromised, and how power—when unchecked—can be misused. This has made me appreciate the argument that responsible, well-regulated civilian firearm ownership can play a role in safeguarding society from potential abuses of authority.

At the heart of it, I believe government exists to serve the people. When citizens raise genuine concerns, those in power should listen, engage, and correct course—not resort to intimidation or oppressive measures. A healthy society is one where institutions remain accountable, rights are respected, and trust flows both ways.

Tribute to Raila Odinga

Today I received word that Raila Odinga has passed on. Whether friend or foe, this is a moment that calls for sober reflection.

I never admired him unconditionally—he was responsible for much of the turbulence in our politics—but neither can his legacy be erased. He challenged the status quo in Kenya. He pushed for reforms and forced changes that have, in places, made the country better.

He also broke some of the misguided norms younger generations were adopting to access power. In doing so, his presence may have been a stabilizing force during moments of protest or upheaval.

His passing (if confirmed) will leave a vacuum in our political landscape, one whose effects we will feel for years. But let us not only mourn what was lost: let us also celebrate the good he did, acknowledge the lessons he leaves behind, and aspire that future leadership builds on the promise, not the mistakes, of his era.

May he rest in peace—and may future Kenyans find better ways to both lead and dissent.