MAMAW’S PORCH N POLITICS

mamawsporchnpolitics
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Contemporary issues and interviews through the lens of a Progressive Appalachian Mamaw. Mamaw enlightens those who listen with insight to the issues in rural America. We are more complex than "flyover" country.

  1. Sep 27

    Christopher Macken n Mamaw

    You could not possibly have more fun than to listen to Christopher Macken and Mamaw kick back for a fun hour on a Sunday Morning. He is in Greece, Mamaw back on her porch in Ohio. Have a laugh and thought provoking conversation....just like you are sittin' on a porch. #mamawsporchnpolitics #christophermacken #friendship #fun

  2. Sep 27

    Sunday Morning Coffee with Macken n Mamaw!

    Have no idea where the conversation will go, but join me with the one and only @ChristorpherMacken! We had a ball. Please watch, share and subscribe! Only on Mamaw's Porch. #replay #humor #findyourpeace #mamawsporchnpolitics @thepoliticschicks @MansionsAndMascara

  3. Sep 19

    Two old friends. Women Army Veterans

    Enjoy the conversation with two women who were there when the Army transitioned from the WOMEN's Army Corps to simply "THE ARMY". Their frank recollections and experiences. One's career short circuited by injury, one who retired and got called back into service, and given the task of calling her best friend when her son was injured in IRAQ.

  4. Sep 16

    Taco Tuesday: Weddings, Wheelchairs, AI, Ballots and a War That Won’t End

    Mamaw’s Porch n Politics: Well, y’all, Taco Tuesday covered enough territory this week to make Mamaw wonder whether somebody had accidentally stuffed six months of news into 48 hours. We had Mitch McConnell returning to the Senate after months away. We had Donald Trump Jr. explaining why a Russian oligarch reportedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars helping host his wedding celebrations. We had scientists and AI researchers publicly discussing whether artificial superintelligence could become a threat to humanity. We had Donald Trump furious because the Supreme Court — including justices he appointed — wouldn’t let his administration rewrite mail-ballot procedures just weeks before the midterm election. And then there was Iran. Again. So grab your taco and something cold to drink. We have some things to discuss. Mitch McConnell Returns Sen. Mitch McConnell returned to the Senate this week after roughly three months away following a fall and hospitalization. He acknowledged that he is still not completely recovered but said he intends to be present for important votes. Now Mamaw isn't going to diagnose Mitch McConnell from her porch. That is between Mitch, his doctors and his family. But I am going to ask a question about the institution he serves in. At what point do Americans deserve more transparency when an elected senator is unable to participate in the work of the Senate for an extended period? Because this isn't simply about Mitch McConnell. These aren't honorary positions. United States senators vote on judges, budgets, wars, presidential appointments and laws affecting hundreds of millions of people. Kentucky has two Senate seats. One of them belongs to the people of Kentucky — not to Mitch McConnell, not to the Republican Party and not to Senate leadership. That distinction matters. And Then There Was Don Jr.'s Wedding Oh, honey. This story practically arrived at Mamaw's porch carrying its own taco platter. ProPublica reported that Umar Kremlev, a Russian businessman with close ties to Vladimir Putin, paid hundreds of thousands of dollars toward festivities surrounding Donald Trump Jr.'s May wedding in the Bahamas. Trump Jr. and his wife Bettina subsequently confirmed that Kremlev hosted two nights of celebrations, calling it an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend. They rejected suggestions that the gift had some political motive. Hundreds. Of. Thousands. Of. Dollars. For a wedding gift. Mamaw apparently needs richer friends. The story has now attracted congressional attention. Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, has requested records concerning Trump Jr.'s relationship with Kremlev and the wedding expenses. That is an investigation and a request for information — not proof that Trump Jr. committed wrongdoing. But here's the Taco Tuesday question: If the name in this story were Hunter Biden instead of Donald Trump Jr., what would the reaction be? Imagine this headline: Russian oligarch with ties to Putin spends hundreds of thousands of dollars celebrating Hunter Biden's wedding. Would we hear, Oh, they're just friends? Please. Congress would have ordered so many hearings they'd need a Costco membership just to buy enough coffee. And that's the point. Accountability cannot depend upon whose last name appears in the headline. Democrat, Republican, Trump, Biden, Kennedy, Obama — I don't care. When enormous gifts from politically connected foreign figures intersect with the immediate family of a sitting president, journalists should ask questions. Congress should ask questions. And citizens should ask questions. That's not a conviction. That's oversight. Meanwhile, the People Building AI Are Having a Rather Uncomfortable Conversation Then Taco Tuesday took a little turn into science fiction. Except apparently it isn't entirely science fiction anymore. Researchers and policymakers are debating the dangers posed by artificial superintelligence — systems that theoretically could exceed human abilities across a wide range of tasks. The material we discussed included warnings from scientists, former officials and AI researchers who believe extremely powerful AI systems could create catastrophic risks if their capabilities advance faster than humans learn to control them. Now, before everybody throws their laptop into the backyard: Nobody knows exactly when — or even whether — artificial superintelligence will arrive in the form these researchers are describing. Predictions vary enormously. But here's what caught Mamaw's attention: Some of the people raising alarms are the very people working closest to the technology. That deserves attention. Because humanity has a habit of inventing something first and asking what the hell we're going to do with it second. Maybe this time we reverse that order. Trump Discovers His Supreme Court Doesn't Work for Him Then came one of Mamaw's favorite civics lessons of the week. The Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration's attempt to impose new mail-ballot requirements ahead of the 2026 midterms. The proposed rules would have required significant changes involving ballot envelopes and voter information at a point when states were already preparing for — and in some cases beginning — the election process. The Court left lower-court injunctions blocking those requirements in place. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. Trump wasn't pleased. And according to the material we discussed Tuesday, he complained about his own Supreme Court nominees — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — after they declined to back his administration's position. And here comes today's free Mamaw civics lesson: Presidents nominate Supreme Court justices. They do not own them. They're not employees of the president. They're not his lawyers. They're not supposed to ask, What would Donald like us to do today? That separation is rather important. Actually, it's the whole damn point. And Finally: Iran This one isn't funny. The information we discussed Tuesday described concerns among senior U.S. military leaders about sustaining America's large military commitment connected to the Iran conflict while still maintaining forces and readiness elsewhere. According to the reporting summarized for our discussion, military leaders warned that ships, aircraft, personnel and other resources committed to the Iran operation were affecting capabilities in Europe, Asia and other regions. That deserves serious attention. America doesn't have unlimited ships. We don't have unlimited aircraft. We don't have unlimited ammunition. And most importantly: We don't have unlimited service members. Every military operation has consequences beyond the battlefield where we're currently looking. Equipment needs maintenance. Units need training. People need rest. Families need their service members home. And military readiness means being prepared for the threat you didn't know was coming. The Pentagon's public response emphasized that force commitments are based on threat assessments, presidential strategic priorities and advice from senior military commanders. Fair enough. But if commanders are warning that America's military resources are being stretched, Congress and the American public should pay attention. Especially Congress. Because somewhere along the way, America became far too comfortable allowing presidents — Republican and Democratic — to conduct extended military operations while Congress behaves as though its constitutional war powers are an optional extracurricular activity. They aren't. So What Did Taco Tuesday Teach Us? Oddly enough, all these stories have something in common. Accountability. An aging senator disappears from public life for months? Ask questions about representation and transparency. A foreign billionaire with connections to another country's government spends an enormous amount celebrating the president's son's wedding? Ask questions about foreign influence and financial relationships. People developing enormously powerful artificial intelligence warn that humanity might not understand how to control what it's building? Ask questions before the technology outruns the answers. A president tries changing election procedures shortly before an election? Let the courts determine whether the government has the legal authority to do it. Military commanders warn that an extended conflict is stretching America's forces? Congress needs to start doing its constitutional job. See, Mamaw doesn't expect government to be perfect. I don't expect politicians to be saints. Lord knows I don't expect billionaires to suddenly discover modesty. But I do expect questions. I expect oversight. I expect checks and balances. And I expect the people we send to Washington to remember one very simple thing: They work for us. Not a president. Not a political party. Not a billionaire. Not a donor. Us. And if asking uncomfortable questions makes somebody mad? Well. Mamaw has survived people being mad at her before. I'll make another pot of coffee. — Mamaw

  5. Sep 13

    Loyalty Oaths, Detention, 9/11 — and What Congress Does Next

    Mamaw’s Porch n Politics Well, y’all, apparently we have reached the point in American politics where a midterm convention can include a president leading thousands of people in a pledge that begins not with allegiance to the United States, not with the Constitution, and not even with the Republican Party — but with praise for Donald Trump. At the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Trump instructed the audience to raise their right hands and repeat after him. The pledge began with Trump describing himself as the “greatest president in the history of the United States.” He then instructed the crowd to promise to bring their families and friends to vote and, in one of the strangest moments of the convention, had them repeat his words about trying to “cheat like hell.” Trump has repeatedly alleged widespread Democratic election cheating without substantiating those claims. Now Mamaw has a question. When did an American political convention start looking like a loyalty ceremony to one man? The presidency is an office. Congress is an institution. The Constitution is the law governing both. No elected official is supposed to be the object of the system itself. Trump also told supporters that if they did not vote, they would “go to hell,” and urged them to “pretend I’m on the ticket,” saying that, in a sense, he was. Then came the money. Trump promised a $5,000 “Trump Dividend” for American adults if Republicans retain control of Congress. The proposal has not been enacted, its funding mechanism remains unresolved, and Speaker Mike Johnson has acknowledged that congressional approval would be necessary. Estimates put the potential cost above $1 trillion. So the voters heard a remarkable combination: Vote Republican and Trump says you could get $5,000. Don’t vote and Trump says you could go to hell. And please raise your right hand while we discuss it. Mamaw has attended church suppers with less pressure. THEN THERE IS DETENTION AND DUE PROCESS While the convention was making headlines, something far less theatrical — and potentially far more consequential — was happening in the federal courts. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Trump administration’s position that broad categories of immigrants could be subjected to mandatory detention without bond hearings. The ruling is part of a wider legal fight: nine federal appeals courts have rejected the administration's interpretation while two have upheld it, making eventual Supreme Court review increasingly possible. What caught Mamaw’s attention was the historical comparison made by the court. The majority invoked the detention of Japanese Americans during World War II while discussing the danger of allowing the government to deprive enormous numbers of people of liberty without individualized review. That comparison should make Americans uncomfortable. Due process isn't supposed to be a prize the government hands out to people it likes. It is a constitutional restraint on government power. You can support stronger immigration enforcement and still ask a fundamental American question: How much power should the government possess to imprison a person without giving that individual a meaningful opportunity to challenge the detention? That question does not disappear because immigration is politically contentious. In fact, that is exactly when constitutional protections matter most. AND THEN CAME SEPTEMBER 11 On the 25th anniversary of September 11, Trump spoke at the Pentagon. There are places and moments in American life that carry a weight beyond ordinary politics. The Pentagon on September 11 is one of them. Trump honored the victims, military personnel and first responders, but he also connected the post-9/11 struggle against terrorism with today's conflict involving Iran. He praised service members currently working to ensure Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon. Mamaw believes September 11 commemorations should first belong to the dead, the survivors, the families and the Americans who answered their country's call afterward. The policy debate over Iran deserves its own scrutiny: What are the objectives? What is the legal authority? What constitutes victory? What will it cost? What is Congress's role? Those are questions worthy of Congress and the American public. September 11 should never become shorthand that prevents Americans from asking them. NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT CONGRESS There is another story developing ahead of November, and it may ultimately matter more than all the convention theatrics. House Democrats are preparing extensive oversight plans should they win control of the House. Reporting indicates that Democratic leaders are considering hearings, subpoenas and document demands rather than immediately making another Trump impeachment their central strategy. And one person positioned near the center of that effort is Rep. Jamie Raskin, currently the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. Raskin and Judiciary Democrats have already pursued investigations and legislation involving presidential pardons, taxpayer payments, the Epstein files, foreign influence and the Emoluments Clauses. He has said that a Democratic House majority would have additional powers to conduct hearings, take depositions and compel documents and testimony through subpoenas. Democratic oversight plans reported so far include scrutiny of possible presidential and family financial conflicts, government contracts and companies connected to Trump's political or business orbit, immigration enforcement, Justice Department actions and the handling of Epstein-related records. Raskin has separately launched an inquiry concerning information in Epstein records suggesting possible contacts involving foreign governments, and House Judiciary Democrats have been investigating financial and constitutional questions surrounding Trump's family and businesses. The Trump administration and its allies dispute many of Democrats' allegations and characterize the planned investigations as partisan. Some companies targeted by Democratic inquiries have also challenged their premises. And that is precisely why congressional investigations matter. Investigations are supposed to establish facts. Get the documents. Put witnesses under oath. Follow the money. Give the public the evidence. And let Americans decide what it means. BUT OVERSIGHT CANNOT BE THE WHOLE AGENDA Mamaw doesn't want a Congress that spends every waking minute staring backward. If Democrats win congressional majorities, they will also have to decide what they intend to legislate. So here is Mamaw's proposed First 100 Days discussion list. Voting rights. Congress should debate nationwide protections for ballot access and election administration. Campaign-finance reform. Citizens United v. FEC is a Supreme Court decision, so Congress cannot simply “repeal Citizens United” with an ordinary statute. But lawmakers can pursue disclosure requirements, public-financing reforms and other campaign-finance legislation within constitutional limits. PAC and dark-money transparency. Americans should be able to understand who is spending enormous sums attempting to influence their government. Congressional term limits. This raises serious constitutional questions and would likely require a constitutional amendment rather than an ordinary federal law. Supreme Court and federal judicial ethics. Congress can debate stronger disclosure, recusal and ethics requirements while respecting the constitutional independence of the judiciary. Age or tenure limits for Supreme Court justices. Because Article III provides federal judges tenure during “good Behaviour,” imposing mandatory age limits would raise major constitutional issues and could require an amendment. Bodily autonomy. Congress can debate federal statutory protections concerning reproductive and other medical decisions, subject to the constitutional boundaries ultimately determined by the courts. Ban individual stock trading by senior federal officials. Members of Congress, senior executive officials and others exercising public power should face clear rules designed to prevent public office from becoming an investment opportunity. Clarify the 25th Amendment. Congress can examine the unresolved statutory questions surrounding the body contemplated by Section 4 of the amendment and whether additional implementing legislation is appropriate. And finally: Restore Congress's power of the purse. Article I gives Congress the power to appropriate federal money. The executive branch administers those appropriations, but presidents should not be able to treat congressionally appropriated money as a personal checking account. Raskin and other Democrats have already introduced the Protecting Our Democracy Act, which includes provisions addressing presidential profiteering, transparency, implementation of congressional spending laws, whistleblower protections, election safeguards and payments connected with presidential pardons. Those ideas deserve hearings, debate and votes. Republicans should offer their alternatives. Then put everybody's name on the board. BECAUSE THIS IS BIGGER THAN DONALD TRUMP That is the lesson Mamaw keeps coming back to. Presidents come and go. Parties win and lose. Congress changes hands. Supreme Court majorities change. But the Constitution has to survive whichever individual happens to occupy the Oval Office. That is why the image from Dallas matters. Thousands of Americans with their right hands raised while a president dictates a pledge praising him should provoke a broader discussion about what political loyalty means in a constitutional republic. Americans are free to love Donald Trump. They are free to despise Donald Trump. They are free to vote Republican, Democratic, independent or none of the above. But the government itself belongs

  6. Sep 10

    Conniption Thursday: The “I Love Me Taco Mid-Term” Edition

    Mamaw has a conniption, talks midterms, voters who have had enough, and why leaving a ballot line blank may scare Taco almost as much as losing. Pull up a chair, pour yourself something strong enough to get through another day in American politics, and welcome back to Mamaw’s Porch n Politics. Today was Conniption Thursday, and apparently we have reached the portion of the American political program where some folks have finally figured out something Mamaw has been saying for quite a while: You do not have to become a Democrat to decide you've had enough of Donald Trump. You don't have to change parties. You don't have to put a Democratic bumper sticker on your pickup truck. You don't have to announce anything to your neighbors. And you certainly don't have to ask Taco's permission. You can simply walk into that voting booth and decide: Nope. Not this time. And THAT may become one of the most important stories of the midterm election. Taco's Biggest Problem May Be the Voters Who Simply Can't Do It Anymore There are Republicans who are not going to vote for a Democrat. Fine. But there are also Republicans who may look at certain MAGA candidates and discover they simply cannot bring themselves to vote for them anymore. And here's the part Taco isn't going to like: They don't have to. You are not required to vote in every race on your ballot. A voter can show up, vote in some races, and leave another race blank. Think about what that could mean. The number of people who turn out to vote could be considerably larger than the number of votes actually cast in a particular race. And somewhere, Taco will be staring at those numbers trying to figure out where all his votes went. Mamaw will save him some time. Some of them may have stayed home. And some of them may have walked right into the voting booth and decided: I just can't vote for this anymore. That's not a prediction of what every Republican will do. It's something Democrats ought to understand is possible—and something Republicans ought to think seriously about. And Democrats Better Not Sit Around Waiting for It Now, before anybody gets comfortable, let Mamaw make something perfectly clear. Republicans staying home will not save democracy. Democrats posting memes will not save democracy. Complaining on Facebook will not save democracy. And yelling at your television—while occasionally therapeutic—does not count as voter turnout. We have to vote. I want Democrats to vote for Democrats. I want people working for candidates now—not three days before Election Day when everybody suddenly discovers democracy has a deadline. Find the candidates in your state. Learn who they are. Talk about them. Volunteer. Donate if you can. Put up a sign. Make phone calls. Knock on doors. And for heaven's sake, VOTE. Because elections aren't won by the people who are the angriest. They're won by the people who actually fill out the ballot. South Carolina, I'm Looking at You One of the places Mamaw has her eye on is South Carolina. There are people working hard there, including Democrats trying to challenge a political establishment that has spent years behaving as though certain offices belong to Republicans by inheritance. They don't. No Senate seat belongs to Tim Scott. No Senate seat belongs to Lindsey Graham. No governor's office belongs permanently to one political party. Those offices belong to the people. And if voters decide they want somebody else sitting in them, there isn't a darn thing the current occupant can do about it. That is one of the beautiful things about elections—provided we actually participate in them. So South Carolina, work those races. Talk about your candidates. Make people know their names long before Election Day. And don't let anybody tell you a state is "unflippable." Political maps are not carved into granite. They change because people change them. And Yes, Mamaw Is Watching Texas I said it during the show and I'll say it again: I think Texas could surprise people. Do I have a crystal ball hidden somewhere on the porch? No. If I did, I probably wouldn't be wasting it on politics. I'd be picking Powerball numbers and buying a porch with an ocean view. But politics changes when demographics change, populations move, younger voters enter the electorate, and longtime voters finally decide they have reached their limit. And there is another group nobody should underestimate: Republicans who are tired. Not Democrats. Not progressives. Republicans. People who may disagree with Democrats on plenty of things but are exhausted by the chaos, the personality cult, the endless grievances, and the demand that loyalty to one man come before practically everything else. Some may vote Democratic. Some may stay home. Some may vote Republican down the ballot and simply skip one race. Every one of those possibilities matters. The Cult of Personality Has a Shelf Life What struck Mamaw again today is just how much of modern MAGA politics has stopped being about conservative policy and become a test of personal loyalty. Not loyalty to the Constitution. Not loyalty to the country. Not even loyalty to the Republican Party. Loyalty to Donald Trump. Smile big enough. Clap hard enough. Tell him he's wonderful. Tell him he's brilliant. Tell him nobody has ever been treated so unfairly in the entire recorded history of mankind. And whatever you do, don't be the person standing nearby when somebody points out the emperor might be missing a few articles of clothing. That's not governing. That's an "I Love Me" convention. And sooner or later, voters get tired of being supporting actors in somebody else's reality show. Mamaw's Midterm Rule: Stop Assuming Anything Stop assuming Texas is red. Stop assuming South Carolina is red. Stop assuming Pennsylvania will go one way or another. Stop assuming somebody else will vote. Stop assuming your neighbor has checked their registration. Stop assuming everybody understands what is at stake. And please stop assuming elections take care of themselves. They don't. People take care of them. The midterms aren't some abstract political horse race being conducted for cable-news entertainment. The people elected will vote on budgets, courts, veterans, healthcare, education, reproductive rights, Social Security, Medicare, national security, oversight and a thousand other things that eventually land right at your kitchen table. That's why Mamaw keeps talking about elections. Not because politics is a sport. Because government matters. So Here Is Mamaw's Assignment Between now and Election Day, find somebody who doesn't normally vote. Don't lecture them. Don't insult them. Don't tell them they're stupid because they voted differently from you ten years ago. Talk to them. Ask them what matters to them. Then help them figure out who is actually running. And if somebody tells you they cannot bring themselves to vote for the MAGA candidate but they also cannot bring themselves to vote for a Democrat? Remind them of something simple: Nobody owns their vote. Not Donald Trump. Not the Republican Party. Not the Democratic Party. Not Mamaw. Their ballot belongs to them. But Mamaw sure hopes they'll use it. Because democracy doesn't require us to agree. It requires us to participate. And if Taco discovers on election night that thousands upon thousands of Americans showed up to vote but somehow couldn't bring themselves to put a check beside his chosen candidates? Well... Mamaw might have to pour another cup of coffee, pull her chair a little closer to the television and watch that particular conniption for herself. Until next time— Pull up a chair. Bring your coffee. Bring your common sense. And for heaven's sake, bring your voter registration card. — Mamaw Mamaw's Porch n Politics

  7. Sep 9

    Wednesday Random Thoughts: Meat, Tankers, Ballrooms, Midterms—and Leave Arlington Alone

    Today on Wednesday Random Thoughts, I bounced around a little. Meat inspection. Tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Gas and diesel prices. Trump's ballroom. Trump's great big I Love Me midterm convention. And finally, Arlington National Cemetery and an arch nobody asked for. At first glance, these things don't seem connected. They are. The connecting thread is a presidency increasingly built around one man's impulses, one man's image and one man's desire to leave his name—or at least his unmistakable fingerprints—on everything he touches. And Mamaw has had about enough. First, About That Meat On September 4, Trump signed an executive order supposedly designed to help American ranchers and increase competition in meat processing. There are parts of that goal worth discussing. Small ranchers absolutely can get squeezed by giant processors. But buried in all that rancher-friendly language is an instruction to USDA to “modernize” meat inspection and remove inspection reporting requirements and what the administration calls “overly prescriptive requirements” that supposedly don't advance essential food safety. Well. Mamaw has a question. Who gets to decide which food-safety requirement is unnecessary? Because when somebody in Washington tells me they're going to make meat processing cheaper by eliminating requirements, I don't immediately reach for my steak knife and celebrate. I reach for my reading glasses. Food inspection isn't glamorous. Nobody holds a parade for an inspector who catches a sanitation problem before contaminated hamburger reaches somebody's kitchen. That's precisely the point. Government sometimes works best when you never know what it prevented. Cut paperwork that truly serves no purpose? Fine. Help small processors compete? Absolutely. But don't sell reduced oversight as “modernization” and expect Americans not to ask exactly what is being eliminated. Mamaw would prefer her hamburger inspected rather than politically liberated. Then We Have the Strait of Hormuz Remember all that talk about strength? We're getting a lesson in what happens when military escalation meets an energy chokepoint. The United States sank five Iranian oil tankers Wednesday. Iran retaliated against shipping. Brent crude climbed above $100 a barrel, while disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz continue to squeeze energy supplies. And eventually that bill finds its way to you. At the gas pump. In diesel prices. In trucking costs. In groceries. In practically everything that has to travel from Point A to Point B. Wars don't stay conveniently tucked inside television screens. Neither do attacks on oil infrastructure and shipping. They arrive at your neighborhood gas station with numbers spinning upward on the sign. Maybe before politicians start blowing things up around one of the world's most important energy corridors, somebody should remember that ordinary Americans are the ones who eventually get handed the receipt. Meanwhile, Back at the Ballroom… While Americans worry about prices and the country is engaged in a widening conflict with Iran, Donald Trump remains fascinated with his construction projects. Especially that ballroom. That enormous White House ballroom has become almost a character in this administration. Trump talks about it. Trump tours it. Trump shows off renderings. Trump discusses its construction. The Supreme Court recently allowed above-ground construction to continue while litigation proceeds. Apparently governing the United States wasn't enough. He needed a building project. There is something almost surreal about watching a president deal with war, inflation, international instability and a midterm election while remaining intensely interested in granite, gold, ballrooms and monuments. America doesn't need Versailles-on-the-Potomac. We need competent government. Welcome to the “I Love Me” Midterm Convention And now Republicans are gathered in Dallas for what Mamaw has officially named: THE DONALD J. TRUMP “I LOVE ME” MIDTERM CONVENTION. Technically, it's a Republican midterm convention. You could have fooled me. Trump is everywhere. He's the centerpiece. He's giving keynote speeches. The midterms apparently aren't simply about electing members of Congress anymore. They're another episode of The Donald Trump Show. There is something important about that. Midterm elections are supposed to be about representatives and senators answering to the people who elect them. Congress is an independent branch of government. It isn't supposed to be the president's backup band. Republican candidates might want to remember that before the entire ballot becomes one enormous referendum on Donald Trump. And Then There Is Arlington This is where Mamaw stopped laughing. Because some things aren't funny. Arlington National Cemetery is sacred ground. Not metaphorically. Not politically. Sacred. More than 400,000 service members, veterans and eligible family members rest there. And the landscape leading to Arlington wasn't thrown together because somebody thought it would look pretty on a postcard. The great monumental plan for Washington grew out of the McMillan Commission of 1901, whose members included architect Daniel Burnham, architect Charles McKim, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., and sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Their vision deliberately connected the Lincoln Memorial, the Potomac, Arlington Memorial Bridge and Arlington. McKim, Mead & White later designed the Memorial Avenue corridor. That visual relationship has meaning. The National Park Service explains that Arlington Memorial Bridge physically and symbolically connects the Lincoln Memorial with Arlington House and represents the reunification of North and South after the Civil War. Think about that. Lincoln. The Union. The Potomac. Arlington. The dead. Reconciliation. Architecture telling American history without saying a word. And now Donald Trump wants to put a 250-foot triumphal arch into that historic landscape. A monument promoted as honoring veterans that critics—including veterans challenging the project in court—argue would interfere with the historic sightline. No. Just no. Arlington Doesn't Need Trump's Help This is what I desperately wish somebody would explain to Donald Trump: Not everything needs to be about you. Arlington doesn't need more gold. It doesn't need a Trump-sized monument. It doesn't need a 250-foot exclamation point. It doesn't need a president trying to manufacture grandeur. It already has grandeur. Walk those rows. Read those stones. Watch a family receive a folded flag. Listen when Taps is played. Then tell me Arlington needs a giant arch to make it more meaningful. It doesn't. The power of Arlington is its restraint. Its uniform white stones don't scream, Look at me. They quietly say: Remember them. That is the difference. You Don't Get to Manufacture Heroism Trump loves the imagery of military power. He loves generals. Parades. Monuments. Flags. Gold. Big things. Things that look powerful. And now, late in his political life, he seems determined to build physical monuments that will tell future generations how important Donald Trump believed Donald Trump was. But heroism isn't something you pour out of concrete. You can't gild it. You can't put your name on it. And you certainly can't manufacture it by planting a giant triumphal arch between Lincoln and Arlington. The heroes are already there. They're beneath those white stones. Some were barely old enough to shave. Some left husbands. Some left wives. Some left babies. Some came home carrying wounds nobody else could see. And some lived long lives before finally being laid beside the people with whom they once served. They don't need Donald Trump to make their resting place impressive. They made it sacred. Mamaw's Final Random Thought Maybe that's what bothered me most today. Whether we're talking about food inspections, tankers in Hormuz, an enormous ballroom, a midterm convention built around one personality, or a massive arch beside Arlington, the question underneath all of it is the same: Who is government supposed to serve? The rancher? The consumer? The soldier? The veteran? The taxpayer? The family standing beside a grave at Arlington? Or the ego of the man occupying the Oval Office? Donald Trump wants to look like a hero. But heroes don't need to build monuments to themselves. And strong leaders don't need every building, convention, military spectacle and skyline to remind us who's in charge. Trump's proposed arch doesn't make Arlington more majestic. Arlington makes the arch look petty. Leave the sightline alone. Leave the history alone. And for God's sake— leave Arlington alone. — Mamaw

  8. Sep 7

    Hormones, Hot Tamales, Ballrooms & The Art of War: Sunday on Mamaw’s Porch

    Well, pull up a chair and refill that coffee, because Mamaw covered enough territory today to require snacks and possibly a map. We started somewhere very different from Washington politics—with a story I wrote and wanted to share. And then we wandered into Washington. Lord help us. First Up: Hormones — File This Under “NUNYA” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon has issued new clinical guidance involving hormone screening for service members. Under the guidelines, men age 30 and older are to receive testosterone testing. For female service members, the guidance addresses evaluations involving fatigue, hormonal imbalance and menstrual irregularities. Reuters reports that some medical professionals have questioned the scientific basis for broad testing and warned about unnecessary testing or treatment. Now, Mamaw had a somewhat less clinical reaction: NUNYA. As in NUNYA BUSINESS. There are legitimate questions about military health and readiness. There are also legitimate questions about medical privacy and whether every biological function of a woman wearing the uniform needs to become somebody else's policy discussion. Women have been serving this country for generations. Somehow they have managed menstruation, hormones, deployments, careers, families and military service without Mamaw needing a monthly Pentagon status report. Imagine that. Meanwhile, Washington Is Getting a Makeover President Trump continues pushing major architectural projects in Washington, including the enormous White House ballroom project and a proposed monumental arch. These aren't little landscaping projects. The ballroom project alone has become the subject of legal, financial, historical-preservation and political fights. And Mamaw keeps coming back to one question: With everything happening in this country and around the world, how did BALLROOM become such a prominent word in American political conversation? We're dealing with military operations overseas, trade disputes, economic questions and Americans trying to figure out what their grocery bill is going to look like next week. And somehow we're discussing arches and ballrooms. Washington has always been weird. Apparently it has decided to become architecturally weird, too. Then Mamaw Got Angry This part wasn't funny. President Trump was recently asked about the continuing U.S. conflict with Iran. Eighteen American service members have been killed. Trump defended Vice President JD Vance's contention that the situation shouldn't necessarily be called a war and described it instead as a “military conflict.” Then he called it “small potatoes.” Trump's argument was that the number of American deaths was comparatively small when measured against wars such as Vietnam. Mamaw didn't hear statistics. Mamaw heard: 18 American service members. Eighteen families. Eighteen empty chairs. Eighteen people who put on the uniform of the United States of America. Whether politicians call what's happening a war, a conflict, an operation or something dreamed up by a communications department doesn't change the fact that American military personnel have died. And that was where Mamaw's temper showed up today. You can debate foreign policy. You can debate military strategy. You can debate whether America should have become involved in the first place. But the people wearing the uniform deserve to be discussed with respect. Every single one of them. And Then Came...Hot Tamales Fortunately, American politics rarely allows Mamaw to remain angry without providing something completely bizarre five minutes later. While discussing trade with Mexico, Trump argued that America could potentially benefit by simply refusing to trade with certain countries. Then came his list of things Mexico has that America might want: “Hot tamales? Tomatoes? A couple of things?” And Mamaw nearly lost it. Now, whether he meant actual tamales or the cinnamon candy Hot Tamales, the mental picture had already formed. Apparently the international trade system has been reduced to: America: We have oil! Mexico: We have tamales! Mamaw: Somebody please find an economist. Trade between the United States and Mexico involves an enormous range of agricultural products, manufactured goods, vehicles, machinery, electronics and interconnected supply chains. So perhaps international economics requires slightly more explanation than: But what about the Hot Tamales? Then again, I'm starting to think Hot Tamales may be the least confusing part of Washington. So Mamaw Pulled Out Sun Tzu Yes. That Sun Tzu. The Art of War. Because after discussing Iran, military leadership, trade wars and Washington's latest adventures, Mamaw figured we might as well consult somebody who's been talking about strategy for roughly 2,500 years. Sun Tzu's central lessons repeatedly emphasize planning, understanding circumstances, knowing one's opponent and avoiding costly conflict when objectives can be achieved another way. And maybe that's the larger question underneath everything Mamaw talked about today. What exactly is the strategy? Not the slogan. Not the press conference. Not the architecture. Not the social-media clip. The strategy. Because presidents come and go. Political parties win and lose. Ballrooms get built. Arches rise and fall. Trade policies change. But the consequences of decisions made in Washington land on ordinary Americans—and sometimes on the men and women wearing America's uniform. Those consequences aren't “small potatoes.” They never were. — Mamaw Pull up a chair. Bring your coffee. We may not agree on everything, but we're going to talk about it.

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About

Contemporary issues and interviews through the lens of a Progressive Appalachian Mamaw. Mamaw enlightens those who listen with insight to the issues in rural America. We are more complex than "flyover" country.

Information

  • Creator
    mamawsporchnpolitics
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    MAMAW’S PORCH N POLITICS