I quietly celebrated 67 years on this planet on October 6, and I believe that, putting aside meeting the love of my life and the birth of my children and grandchildren, NOTHING has made me prouder than witnessing the birth of the first of a two-phase project to breathe new life into political advocacy alongside a FREE civic information hub absent of political contamination.
Today marks the start of a long-held dream: cutting through the nonsense, lies, and deceit. After two previous attempts to get this project over the line, it’s a case of ‘third time’s the charm’. Let me start by saying to my Substack readership: YOU made this possible, and for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. This community has provided an old man across the ocean with a new sense of purpose in the autumn years of his life; you can’t put a value on that.
None of what I am about to introduce to the world would have been possible without the people who helped shape this vision along the way. It may no longer resemble the seeds of an idea that began over three years ago, in a common belief that we have to find a way to fight this tyranny among a group of like-minded activists; it pays homage to our joint determination to see it delivered as a no-cost resource to the American people, in order that they might hold their elected representatives accountable. As the late great John Lewis said:
“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year — it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”
John’s loss shook the foundations of my world, but this project is dedicated to his memory and to all who never gave up in the struggle against injustice. No antidote to the malign intent of those who would do us harm is more potent than the pure, unvarnished truth, and that lies at the heart of this project.
To those who have often said to me, “Don’t tell us we have a problem; tell us how to solve it”. I would respectfully suggest that if you need an old guy from across the ocean to tell you how to solve it, then you really do have a problem. As I’ve said many times, my role here is not to tell you what you want to hear, but rather what you need to hear. Over the years, I’ve been attacked and had my life threatened by Trump cult followers, Netanyahu enablers and many who find my thoughts challenging to their narrative. On the other side of the coin, I’ve been attacked by Democrats for daring to challenge an administration that should have done better, calling me ‘disloyal’ and ‘unhelpful’.
Let me tell you what’s unhelpful. Failing the American people in November 2024 and blaming them in a “We told you so, now you’ll pay the price for not listening to us” moment. Then sitting in silence for almost a year, doing far too little while Trump used a wrecking ball on the government and judicial system. THAT is what I call unhelpful, and yes, I’m angry. I’m really angry because the American people deserve better. What’s more, the Democratic base absolutely deserves better than to be viewed as simply a cash cow come election time.
There’s little point in dwelling on my anger other than to say, the truth matters, and truth isn’t partisan; for me, it’s binary. This regime may have coined the phrase alternative facts in its first term, but politicians from both sides of the aisle have used them as their weapon of choice for decades. I believe Democrats will win the midterms, but if you can’t win an election against a man a federal judge said raped E. Jean Carroll “as many people commonly understand the word” and a man who, in my opinion, appears to want to protect the perpetrators of child sex crimes rather than their victims, then who can you win against?
It’s time to stop with the nonsense and wake up to the reality that politicians don’t govern America; special interests do. The legislature is just a front for the rich and powerful. The truth can be uncomfortable sometimes; that’s for sure, but if people keep asking, ‘Are we there yet, Dad,’ about whether America is in a constitutional crisis, I fear America may be beyond help. The US was plunged into constitutional crisis on the day when millions of Americans chose to elect a convicted felon to represent their best interests.
It’s this anger, and the persistent accusations that I haven’t offered solutions, that ignited the fire to get the Truth Matters real vision over the line, so thanks for that. The project’s original working title was ‘The Truth Portal’, and it would have come to life six months ago if not for the prohibitive cost. Yes, I could have delivered it with the limited funds available, but I concluded that unless it could be done properly, it was better to leave it on the shelf until the cost constraints could be addressed. That moment arrived about a month ago. I had to decide whether to let it fade into the distance, never see the light of day, or bite the bullet and try to make it happen largely on my own. I chose the latter.
Six months ago, this was a journey of hope and determination; I even made a short film to celebrate what it stood for.
After making this short film, it was time to rely on the instincts of a master’s degree from the University of Life, from the Department of Self-Employment. The only way to deliver it without a team of enterprise application developers and systems architects was to use AI. That wasn’t an easy decision, given public sentiment toward it. I spent almost a week deep-diving into the best model for the project, and after careful deliberation, I chose Anthropic’s Claude. This project shows that AI can do good, and that we should never let perfection be the enemy of good.
Is AI a threat? Like all innovation and progress, it can be if we don’t put the right regulations in place or leave it in the hands of the reckless.
To those who say I offer no solutions, pull up a chair and listen. Through my time at the University of Life, I've gained extensive experience delivering data-driven solutions for small businesses. In addition, I also built a case management system for UK Members of Parliament, so I’m acutely aware of how information systems can serve the public good. I saw firsthand how my system helped people and how working hand in hand with elected representatives can deliver vital support to everyday people. I also know data management systems can help hold politicians accountable, and that is at the heart of this project’s evolution.
Over the next two days, beginning tomorrow, I’ll spell out in some detail how the Truth Matters project separates my political advocacy from the public record in order to serve two purposes:
To provide a FREE, public-facing resource called Matter of Record, free from political contamination. A simple but vital repository of facts and figures drawn directly from government data and the public record. A tool any everyday American can use easily for education and to establish the facts. It identifies and attributes every source and explains every data-collection methodology in plain English. It presents everything in an elegant user interface across all connected devices. Whether you have a phone, a tablet, a laptop, or a desktop, each has a carefully crafted interface that looks good and ‘just works’.
To take Truth Matters’ democracy and social justice advocacy to the next level. I’m reluctant to go into great detail now because a mountain of work is still in progress, along with my writing here, all to deliver an experience for those interested in my thoughts. Digital advocacy has become my happy place over the past 6 years. I like to see those years as my apprenticeship in US politics. That experience has shaped a resource I believe advocacy groups and the creator community will embrace.
This isn’t about me; it certainly isn’t about the money. If it were, I would have walked away long ago. Be assured, my bank manager’s anxiety levels would be significantly lower too. What I can tell you in good conscience is that when you’re not chasing the golden goose, you can focus on doing your best work, and I believe I’m about to show you that.
Tomorrow, I’ll focus on the first piece of the proposition: The Matter of Record; then on Thursday, I’ll provide details of the new Truth Matters site and what it will deliver. Both are now domains matterofrecord.org and truthmatters.org.uk. This Substack now has its own domain, too: read.truthmatters.org.uk. Next Monday, a new Substack called Battle for Britain will launch. It will be a sister publication to Truth Matters and the UK version of Truth Matters, offering the same kind of commentary you find here, but tailored to UK politics. I’m hoping some of you will also support that project.
This is an ambitious project. However, I’ve been planning it for months. Every post you read in either publication will be in my own words; Anthropic's Claude will build the accompanying explainers and graphics and also manage the site’s administration and workflow. I have worked in meticulous detail to deliver an experience for my community of readers and the wider public. Users will have transparent access to data, with rules baked in to protect your security and my integrity.
The whole project is crafted for good. Throughout, you can access the methodologies behind the analysis, along with source attributions, and a button lets you report corrections or provide feedback. The system is designed so I can get eyes on any problems immediately. AI excels at organising tasks and prioritising actions.
I’m inviting you to join me in my happy place, where I can offer you a safe, secure experience away from the tsunami of chaos, division, and disinformation. To enter the subscriber-only areas, you will only need to provide an email address. I consider your security to be my security. There will be no subscription requirement, and the data will be free for all.
I don’t need you to accept that what I’m telling you today is the truth; I’m prepared to show you over the coming weeks. This is about us sharing a journey of discovery together, and without your feedback, I can’t do what needs to be done. To be clear, I can’t fund this project on my own. I believe the only sustainable model is community ownership. I won’t accept large investors because I will never allow outside interests to contaminate this project’s objectives.
Just as people choose to become paid subscribers of my Substack to support, not read, my work, the same will apply to this project. I need to be clear: I have no intention of working in a design-by-committee environment, so if a small-dollar donor wants to buy influence, they should look elsewhere. That doesn’t mean I won’t listen; of course I will; it’s who I am. The system will be designed to put common ideas in front of me for discussion.
I’ll hold Zoom events to discuss progress and listen to people’s thoughts face to face. This is OUR project, not mine, so what I’d ask of you over the next few days, as I provide the blueprint for the roadmap forward, is to give some thought to whether this is something you would like to support.
Let me stress from the outset that I know many in these challenging times can’t afford to contribute financially but still want to because they believe in it. To those people, I say very clearly, “Keep your money in your pocket”. This project is designed to help you, not stress you. The very fact that you share and amplify my voice is payment enough. My words are for those who feel they can and want to help. I’ve brought this project this far; if you have doubts, I don’t want you to commit to anything you haven’t seen yet. What I’m saying, is that I can probably support it on my own for a month, maybe two. If by then it doesn’t have enough support to live beyond that point, I’ll gracefully retire it, and I’ll be happy to live with that.
I don’t want any ambiguity about my position. I’m more than happy to provide my time for free. I have plenty of it to spare. Beyond that, I’m in your hands. I have paid for all the production facilities and upgraded all the technology that built the project myself. This is about ongoing hosting, maintenance, and security costs, which are not cheap in an enterprise environment. That’s the element I simply don’t have the resources to sustain beyond a couple of months.
By the end of the week, I’ll share an example of my first interactive Substack, and starting Monday, I’ll begin a slow, structured rollout of the initial website features to this community and their friends. This will give people a chance to get hands-on experience with this vision to help create a better tomorrow. I know this is a long post, and I apologise, but this is a defining moment in my advocacy journey, and I wanted to share it openly and transparently so I can explain where I intend to go with it. Thank you for your patience, and I look forward to sharing the next steps tomorrow.
If you would like to support my work but can’t commit to a paid subscription, you can now make a one-off donation by clicking the image below. Your donation helps cover research costs and keeps my independent reporting FREE for all. It also now helps support Matter of Record.
This is my first time reading your writings. Thanks for such great insights and educating me on what issues face us and how we can make a difference.
I spent five weeks out of country commemorating the two year anniversary of my mother’s parting among other things. During that time, I read every post you shared in as much as I could.
I came back to this hellhole because I know I have a civic duty in November. One vote is never enough, but it could make a difference in the final count. I intend to vote in November as it’s my right and my duty. I could not stay away and have a free conscience after that.
It saddens me deeply that politicians will be politicians and they will continue to put their own interests first. I see very few leaders and candidates who actually mean what they are spewing at meetings, on television and through the social networks. Yet, that’s the hope America has. People like Talarico, like Mamdani, like Abdul el-Sayed, like Governor Pritzker, like the very brave gentleman of Georgia, ossoff; all Democrats and either progressive or with progressive tendencies.
As for the Republicans,! Those people who now want to distance themselves from what they themselves sponsored and supported are too late. They are cowards, greedy bastards who only care about themselves. I do have to say the same for those corporate Democrats who want to keep their seats at the expense of the voters who are hanging from a thread when it comes to their housing, their healthcare and their ability to pay their obligations; at the expense of students who can’t afford to go to school, at the expense of the elderly who have contributed and our asking how they’re going to live during their retirement and their last days on this earth.
I am not voting Republican or democrat this time around. I am voting against Trump, his corruption, his family, his thugs, this administration, his dream of keeping America under his toe. I am voting for reconstruction, recovery, patience, understanding, strength of character, in short, I am voting for courage and for the people who can stand on their convictions and on the truth to make this country surface from the whole where Donald Trump has plunged it. I am voting for education; for people to learn to live with our history and truly take advantage of that learning process. For freedom of speech, for a free press, for freedom of religion, for reform in every sense of the word and in every social and political instance where it’s needed. I’m voting for reform in our immigration system, in the judiciary system, even in the legislative system.
Is my vote ambitious and to tall an order? No. It’s the vote we should all cast if we want this country to get back on its proverbial feet to put it in some descriptive semblance; a country where people will want to come again; a country of compassionate, humane, courageous, civic, creative, productive people.
We have too many spoiled brats that we have contributed to this country’s poor health. Youths and seniors alike who whine for anything and everything they can find to whine about. We need to return to racing courageous, compassionate, productive citizens who will be able to lead the country out of crises such as the one we are undergoing.
Will that be possible ever again? It depends on us and us only.
Do I enjoy and listen to your English voice of reason? I definitely do because you speak my mind, though as I have said before, in a much more eloquent manner; because you show that you really care for the future of humanity.