On November 11, Americans across the country will recognize Veterans Day. In Plymouth, Michigan, that recognition will include something distinctly American: bluegrass music, veterans, families and community members gathering together for Red, White & Bluegrass, a Veterans Day benefit concert at …
VA Community Care: The Wait-Time and Drive-Time Rules Every Veteran Should Know
Many veterans do not know they may have the right to see a doctor outside the VA, at VA expense, when the VA cannot see them in time. The VA MISSION Act of 2018 created the Veterans Community Care Program. Its rules are written in federal regulation at 38 CFR 17.4010 and 17.4040. Knowing them can …
Thirsty Thursdays: Put the Right People at the Same Table
Good ideas do not only happen in conference rooms, laboratories, universities, corporate offices or government buildings. Sometimes they happen when an engineer talks to a welder. When a farmer meets a programmer. When a machinist sits down with an entrepreneur. When someone who has spent 30 years …
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Spark Nation and Truth Trench: Building a Continuum of Care for America’s Veterans
Military service eventually ends. The need for purpose, employment, community, leadership and support does not. America has thousands of organizations, businesses and individuals committed to helping veterans. The problem is often not that help does not exist. The problem is that help exists in …
Thirsty Thursdays Is Officially Underway
Truth Trench Think Tank is happy to announce the successful launch of Truth Trench Thirsty Thursdays on October 1, 2026. What began as an idea for creating a regular place where people could simply get together, have a drink, meet their neighbors and have real conversations is now officially …
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Should Members of Congress Trade Stocks? The STOCK Act, the Stop Insider Trading Act and What Happened in the Senate
Members of Congress write the laws, receive classified briefings and oversee the industries whose stocks they can legally buy and sell. Few issues unite Americans across party lines the way this one does. Yet on September 30, 2026, the most recent attempt to restrict congressional stock trading …
America.gov, TruthTrench.org and Truth Agent: A New Way for Americans to Understand Their Government
The launch of America.gov represents an important change in how Americans can find and navigate federal information. Instead of expecting citizens to know which department, bureau or agency controls a particular issue, America.gov allows people to begin with a question in ordinary language. A …
America.gov: A New Digital Front Door to the Federal Government
The federal government has launched America.gov, an artificial-intelligence-powered service designed to give Americans one place to begin when they need information or services from government. The idea is simple: citizens should not have to understand the organizational chart of the federal …
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Who Can Search Your License Plate? Flock Cameras, Federal Agencies and the Fourth Amendment
A camera bought by your city council may be answering questions from federal agencies you never voted on. In June, Truth Trench examined the national debate over Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs), the cameras sold by companies such as Flock Safety that photograph passing vehicles and log …
Can Washington Block State AI Laws? Federal Preemption, the AI Litigation Task Force and the States
Who gets to make the rules for artificial intelligence: Washington or your state capitol? In 2026, state legislatures introduced dozens of bills on AI and children alone, and states including California, Texas, New York, Illinois and Colorado enacted broader AI laws. The federal government has …
The Power Of The People In Your Hands – Truth Agent
Truth Agent Goes Cross-Platform: Windows, Mac and Linux The public record should not depend on which computer you own Truth Agent 1.2 Beta is expanding beyond Windows. The focused federal accountability and research workspace from Truth Trench Think Tank is now available for Windows, …
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DOGE and the Federal Workforce: What Was Actually Cut, and What GAO Could Verify
Shrinking the federal government was a central promise of 2025. Eighteen months later, the official data allow citizens to check the results. The Workforce: What Changed Federal data show a net decline of about 271,000 civilian federal employees, roughly 12% of the workforce, between January …
Fauci Held in Contempt: Who Else Could Face Congressional Scrutiny Over the COVID-19 Response?
On August 6, 2026, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted along party lines to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer questions about the federal government’s handling of COVID-19. The …
Anthony Fauci: A Career That Shaped America’s Response to Modern Epidemics
For more than four decades, Dr. Anthony Fauci stood at the center of America's response to some of the world's most significant infectious disease outbreaks. Serving as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) from 1984 until 2022, Fauci advised seven U.S. …
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Who Controls ICE? Government Funding, Congressional Oversight, and Immigration Enforcement
Examining how Congress funds Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Executive Branch administers immigration law, and the constitutional checks that shape federal enforcement policy. Few federal agencies receive as much public attention as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). …
Could Canada Become the 51st State? Tariffs, Alberta Separatism, and the Law of American Expansion
Examining the U.S.–Canada trade dispute, Alberta’s independence movement, the constitutional path to American statehood, and the history of U.S. territorial expansion. Why This Matters The United States and Canada share more than a border. The two countries are deeply connected through …
House Passes Limits on Congressional Stock Trading, 232-198
For the first time, the House has voted to restrict members of Congress from buying individual stocks. On July 22, 2026, the House passed the Stop Insider Trading Act (H.R. 7008) by a vote of 232-198. All 218 voting Republicans and 13 Democrats voted yes; 198 Democrats voted no. What the Bill …
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Steele Dossier to the Mueller Report: The Full Story
Part of the Truth Trench Think Tank Crossfire Hurricane, FISA, and Russia Investigation Research Series Introduction Few government investigations in modern American history have generated as much public debate as the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. …
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International Court of Justice or “International Court of Injustice”? The Debate Over Sovereignty, Global Courts, and Marco Rubio’s Criticism
As tensions grow between the United States and international judicial institutions, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has renewed criticism of international courts headquartered in The Hague, arguing they have exceeded their intended role and threaten American sovereignty. Supporters of international …
Election Integrity Research Series: Truth Trench Think Tank
American elections depend on public confidence in the systems that register voters, cast ballots, count votes, and certify results. This research series compiles publicly available reports, investigations, and primary source documents examining several election integrity topics that have generated …
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Noncitizens on State Voter Rolls
The integrity of voter registration systems depends on one fundamental principle: only individuals who meet the legal qualifications established by federal and state law may register to vote. Among those qualifications, United States citizenship remains a requirement for voting in federal elections, …
Michigan Voter-Registration Investigation
Accurate voter registration records are one of the foundational components of election administration in the United States. Every election begins long before ballots are cast, relying on voter registration databases maintained by state and local election officials to verify eligibility, assign …
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China’s Acquisition and Exploitation of American Voter Data
TAs elections become increasingly digital, the information surrounding them has become as valuable as the votes themselves. Voter registration databases contain millions of records that, while often public in varying degrees under state law, can become far more powerful when aggregated, analyzed, …
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Vulnerabilities in Electronic Voting & Ballot-Counting Systems
Electronic voting systems have transformed the administration of elections across the United States by increasing efficiency, improving accessibility, and accelerating vote tabulation. From voter registration databases and electronic poll books to ballot scanners and tabulation software, modern …
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The Steele Dossier: What It Claimed—and What Was Later Verified, Disputed, or Unsubstantiated
Few documents associated with the 2016 presidential election generated as much controversy as the collection of intelligence reports commonly known as the Steele dossier. Compiled during the 2016 campaign by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, the reports contained allegations …
