Introduction
Welcome to The Cameron Journal Newsletter!
Each week I send out the latest headlines, the latest videos from The Cameron Journal and commentary about the week’s events. If you’re new here, my name is Cameron Lee Cowan, and I’m the Creative Director here at The Cameron Journal. You can learn more about me on the about page.I do research and commentary on politics, culture, and the world around us. Remember, The World is Hard, This is Not.
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Updates
Welcome to our first month in the Trump Administration! Thursday marked the first full month of Trump 2.0 and it has been a busy month. It feels like it has been years but it is only been 32 days by the time you read this. I know many people are overwhelmed but I keep reminding everyone to stay calm, take a deep breath, and take a break from the news and social media. I hope that my being calm about the headlines will help everyone reading this or watching my content as well.
We are going to dive into the headlines but first I want to wish everyone a belated Happy President’s Day! We celebrated the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln last Monday and celebrated all of the men (so far) that have held the office. I completely forgot about the holiday this year but I took it off once I noticed that my email inbox was rather sparsely populated with messages for a Monday.
We are back in the saddle on Monday with the Newshour but we had three great new videos this week so I hope you’ve had a chance to watch those (links below!)
Maybe it’s time to write that book?
You can write a book in 2025 and I can help! My new writing courses are out now, and you can sign up for Fiction, Non-Fiction or both! To learn more, please visit The Cameron Journal Academy and check out my course: The Power of Story.
Study Plato with Daniel Sanderson
We’ve partnered with Daniel Sanderson, through The Cameron Journal Academy, to offer his new Plato course, Re-imagining Plato. If you’re interested in getting in-depth with this Stoic philosopher, this is the course for you, and it’s only $100 for lifetime access!
The Latest
Let’s dive into the stories I’m following this week!
Dental Cavities May Be a Thing of the Past
In this new substack post from popular Twitter influencer Cremieux, he writes about a new treatment for a certain bacteria in our mouths that causes cavities. For Americans who have cavities (which is many people), this bacteria is often transferred from mothers to children. I am very lucky; my Mom didn’t have cavities until she was in her 60s. I’m good for now but I found this interesting because it would be incredibly disruptive to the dental industry and for those with lousy teeth (like my Dad) it would be a massive game changer. This is outside of our usual content, but I thought it was worth passing along as a point of interest.
Ukraine’s War
This week, President Trump announced that he would be leading peace talks with Ukraine and Moscow to end their three-year war. The details have not been completely worked out yet but it appears to be a bit of a loser for Ukraine. The terms circulating at the moment include Russia keeping all territory, Ukraine leaving Russian lands, a new demilitarized zone managed by the British and French, and a prohibition on Ukraine joining NATO. As a bonus, Europe will be responsible for rebuilding the war-torn country and getting Ukraine (what’s left of it) back on its feet.
There is no doubt that this is a terrible deal for Ukraine. For all the loss of life and all the money (mostly American), Ukraine is walking away with nothing and in a weaker position than when Russia invaded in 2023 (despite President Trump trying to rewrite recent history with his comments).
I think this deal will definitely go through in some form and despite Zelenskyy being called a dictator, Russia is pushing for elections so that it can install a Moscow-friendly regime in Kiev. That was the plan all along. In short, Russia is basically going to win this war through attrition and American foreign policy ineptitude.
The End of the Independent Agency
It has been a good thing to have certain parts of the government be free from political forces and able to practice good governance regardless of the comings and goings of elections. However, this week, President Trump has directed the government that its rule-making powers (granted by Congress) and other decisions will now need to run through the White House.
This is the end game of the Trump Administration: to cement power around the White House and reduce the power of bureaucracy. The centralization of power around the executive branch and a reduction in the size of government has been a dream of certain parts of the GOP. They are now getting their wish (Dick Cheney would be thrilled), and it will change life for everyday Americans.
Once Trump has consolidated power, he will be able to change the rules of the government at will and implement his agenda without much less pushback from Congress. There will be lawsuits for certain things, but that won’t stop the sweeping changes to how government works and how they will affect Americans.
Personally, I’m waiting for Congress to assert its authority, but I haven’t heard a word from Speaker of the House Mike Johnson or Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
The Case for Voter Suppression
I came across this and found it rather interesting. In this Substack post from The Hartmann Report, they have new numbers indicating that the GOP voter suppression efforts following the 2020 election were highly successful in 2024, resulting in a Democrat loss. I’m not saying that this is true or real, but I think it is interesting. I’m not really in the mood to start a whole “stolen election” narrative (it isn’t productive), but their research is fascinating.
The question is, what can be done to make elections more fair? Obviously, allowing mail-in ballots and reducing the ability to challenge voters would be a start, but I doubt we will see any of this under the current administration, and it is unlikely in many Red States.
Congress is already going in the opposite direction with the SAVE Act, which would require voter ID and verification with a birth certificate. Ironically, this would disenfranchise many women who have gotten married and changed their last name. This will make it harder for many people to vote, especially as states push in-person voting rather than voting by mail.
I would check out the substack post and take a look at the numbers yourself. Harris might have been cheated, and there might not be anything we can do about it.
From The Cameron Journal
From my new collection: What the Hell is Going On?
Articles of Interest:
This article has been a long time in coming for me but here is my thoughts on immigration and what the future of it may be in this country.
Dr. James Ogsbury is back again this week with his new article about his life after the events of his new book, About Not Losing.
Keep up with The Cameron Journal Podcast
The Interview:
The Cameron Journal Newshour:
There was no Newshour the week due to the holiday (and I needed a little break!) See you all on Monday!
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