Whether you are a man or woman, boy or girl, everyone wants to have a healthy, full head of hair. Hormones, sleep, diet, and age all impact hair quality. If you are experiencing premature greying, dry or oily hair, breakage, hair loss, or slow growth, there are a few lifestyle tips and tricks that can restore confidence in your hair again.

Dry or Greasy Hair

Both dry and greasy hair can be caused by and managed through lifestyle habits. Frequent hair washing with harsh and chemical-laden shampoos and conditioners, chemical treatments, environmental factors, hormones, aging, and genetics all influence hair moisture. Fortunately, the solution is quite simple.

Those with dry hair should wash their hair less frequently and choose chemical-free products. Use natural moisturizing oils for hair care and invest in a silk pillowcase to protect against dryness. This can also help alleviate dandruff.

Hair Breakage and Split Ends

On the other hand, oily hair can be frustrating, uncomfortable, especially for adolescents. Ironically, washing too often triggers sebaceous glands to produce even more oil. Instead, wash hair thoroughly just a few times a week. Minimize brushing and touching hair throughout the day. If washing alone isn’t enough, try dry shampoo or natural rinses with apple cider vinegar or aloe vera. 

Managing hair moisture doesn’t have to be complicated. Establish a washing routine that works for you; avoid chemicals, and use oils or rinses as needed (natural oils for dry hair, and apple cider vinegar or aloe vera rinses for oily hair)

Fragile, easily broken with split ends can result from physical and chemical factors.

Physical causes include:

• Over-processing and over-washing, which weakens keratin (the main protein in hair)
• Infrequent hair trims
• Rough brushing or combing
• Tight hairstyles

Chemical causes include:

• Poor diet/nutrition (especially one lacking in protein, iron, zinc, and folic acid)
• Stress
• Thyroid conditions

Damaged hair cannot be repaired. The only solution is to cut off the dead and damaged hair to allow new hair growth. To maintain healthy, elastic hair, use gentle, natural products and get regular trims. Address any thyroid conditions and consume plenty of healthy protein and fats.

Greying Hair

While greying in late 30s and 40s is a natural part of the aging process, premature greying can often be prevented or reversed through diet and lifestyle. According to Dr. Eric Berg, D.C., author and health educator, genetics largely determine when greying begins, as inherited traits affect how long melanin pigments last in hair. This is why some people begin greying at 30, and others not until much later.

Tips To Prevent Or Delay Premature Greying:

• Consume adequate minerals, especially iron and copper
• Support gut health with an anti-inflammatory diet
• Get enough sleep
• Reduce stress
• Avoid harsh hair treatments and products
• Use natural hair color enhancers like rosemary oil or sage oil

Hair loss comes in many forms, some of which are inevitable with age. However, hair loss or thinning in young people is not normal. Hair health often reflects internal health issues from the past few months. Many hair conditions can be linked to underlying health concerns.

The “root” cause of hair loss can often be attributed to underlying health issues. Nutrient deficiencies (especially protein), chronic stress, hormonal changes (particularly in women), chronic infections, and toxicity can all lead to brittle, dry hair and hair loss. Expensive hair treatments and products won’t address these root causes. The best approach is to treat the underlying chronic condition. Hair health will return when your overall health improves.

Abnormal hair conditions can be linked to more serious, internal health issues. Supporting hair health means supporting overall health holistically.

Everyone wants to have a healthy, luscious, full head of hair. Poor diet and lifestyle are often the root cause of hair problems. Remember, hair is a reflection of your body’s health. Don’t just care for your hair – care for your body too.

Attorney General Raúl Labrador has announced that investigators with his Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit arrested 42-year-old Jeremey Wakeley on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, on four counts of possession of child sexual exploitation material and one count of distribution of child sexual exploitation material. At the time of his arrest, Wakeley was employed as a bus driver with a company that contracts with local schools. 

“Yesterday, my ICAC Unit arrested a man who worked as a local school bus driver in the Treasure Valley,” said Attorney General Labrador. “We’ve found no evidence of any local victims at this time, but parents deserve to know that my team is working overtime to protect Idaho’s children. I want to thank our law enforcement partners for their help with this arrest.”

The ICAC Unit was assisted by the Caldwell Police Department, Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, Nampa Police Department, Meridian Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations.

At this time, investigators have found no evidence of any local victims. Anyone with information regarding the exploitation of children is encouraged to contact local police, the Attorney General’s ICAC Unit at 208-947-8700, or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678.  

The Attorney General’s ICAC Unit works with the Idaho ICAC Task Force, a coalition of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, to investigate and prosecute individuals who use the internet to criminally exploit children.

Parents, educators, and law enforcement officials can find more information and helpful resources at the ICAC website, ICACIdaho.org.

The charges listed above are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. 

On a recent social media scroll, I came across yet another panic-ridden parent urgently seeking advice on a local homeschooling board. Her child was being bullied at school and spiraling quickly. These types of cries for help are not uncommon, and are often similar in nature: Where do I start? How do I make sure she’s getting what she needs? What about grades? Testing? Diplomas? College and job possibilities?

Leaning in like a roused group of mama bears, the homeschool community rallied to her side. Many of the things they said echoed some of the thoughts I have set forth here: A safe home is always better than a harmful situation at school; a loving parent knows what his or her child needs; mental, emotional, and spiritual growth is just as important as intellectual. Many gave her advice on curriculum, taking time off to “de-school” and breathe, spending time reading, going on field trips, exploring intrinsic interests, and pointing out all the benefits that homeschooling has to offer. It was inspiring to see the encouragement this mom and her daughter expressed in a later comment on the thread.

If you find yourself in a place where you need to pull your child out of school in a hurry, I want to encourage you that you do not need to panic. In such circumstances, it is likely that everyone is under a lot of stress. A prompt withdrawal stems the bleeding by eliminating the immediate threat of a harmful situation like bullying.

Next, lessening the burden of the school schedule and all it entails – early morning start times, after school pick-ups, homework, projects, deadlines, emails and notifications from administrators, fundraisers, extracurriculars, registration, peer pressure, social cliques, screens, alcohol, drugs, explicit library books, curriculum with an agenda, and the list goes on – gives your whole family a respite from the non-stop pressure.

During this transitional time, it is perfectly fine to take a month or two to stop everything “school” while you recalibrate. Let your child bake, paint, try a new hobby, exercise, explore the outdoors, or dig deep into an interest for which there was little time before. We are incredibly blessed to live in a state and nation where this kind of option is even allowed. Take advantage of this freedom while it lasts. 

As for curriculum, as I’ve written in the past, don’t work yourself into a frenzy. This is probably the easiest part of homeschooling. Go to a site like Cathy Duffy Reviews, or attend a homeschool convention that has curriculum vendors, and take your time. Look things over with your child and choose together. This is your chance to give her a customized education perfectly tailored to her learning style, interests, and talents. In Idaho, for now, no one from “the state” is breathing down your neck, so there is no need to be in a hurry – what is a month or two in view of her entire life?

If you are worried about your child finishing high school with “gaps” in her learning, stop worrying. Every high school graduate has gaps, no matter how they were educated. As adults, we all know that any lack of knowledge needed for personal or professional reasons can be remedied if and when necessary. That said, it is definitely easier to acquire the skills needed for a given job path when young, single, and still in school. Therefore, if possible, seek out a career counselor while your child is still in high school to get a feel for what she might like to do for a living, then shape her studies to align with her ultimate goals. The benefit of homeschooling is that you get to be the one who carves out every detail of the path.

Of course, “homeschooling” does not rule out using outside resources to augment a child’s curriculum. NIC offers dual credit courses for homeschoolers; local co-ops abound; online and hybrid classes and “schools” are readily available; even swapping teaching with a friend (she likes dissections and you like dissertations, so she teaches your kids science and you teach hers English). The choices available for today’s “home-educated” students can conceivably have them outside the house every day. 

So, to the mom on Facebook who wants the best for her daughter – I applaud you. You faced your fear for the love of your daughter and took a leap of faith. My hope and prayer for you both is that you discover your own “homeschool” niche – whatever that looks like – and enjoy every minute of it. 

And I hope she never has to face that bully again.

Attorney General Raúl Labrador has announced that Tracy Hofius, 49, was sentenced January 21, 2026, for Public Assistance Provider Fraud. Public Assistance Provider Fraud is a felony currently punishable by up to 15 years in prison, though at the time of Hofius’ fraudulent conduct in 2022 and 2023, the penalty was 5 years in prison. 
 
Hofius was the Executive Director of North Star Child Development Center, a non-profit that provides developmental disability services to Idaho Medicaid participants. Medicaid fraud investigators determined that Hofius executed a scheme to wrongfully obtain Medicaid funds by fraudulently adjusting and submitting incorrect information to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare for reimbursement from the Medicaid program. Investigators found that many of the services Medicaid paid for were not actually provided by Hofius or any other employees of North Star. She pled guilty on November 18, 2025.
 
“When the Legislature gives my office authority to investigate fraud, we get results,” said Attorney General Labrador. “This defendant stole $154,000 by billing for services never provided to children with disabilities. We recovered every dollar and will continue pursuing anyone who defrauds Idaho’s Medicaid program.”
 
Judge Barry McHugh placed Hofius on supervised probation for three years and ordered her to pay $154,119 in restitution to the Idaho Medicaid program. Hofius was also ordered to pay court costs and a fine of $1000.00. Judge McHugh also ordered Hofius to perform 45 days of labor for the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Community Labor Program and complete 120 hours of community service. Hofius’ guilty plea also allows the Federal Department of Health and Human Services to suspend her credentials as a Medicaid provider.
 
The matter was investigated and prosecuted by personnel from the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $1,105,525.00 for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2026. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $368,508.33 for FY 2026, is funded by the State of Idaho.

BOISE, IDAHO – Idaho Family Policy Center, a pro-family Christian ministry, celebrates the introduction of our Uniformity in Local Antidiscrimination Ordinances Act by the Idaho House Local Government Committee. The committee will soon consider the bill in a public hearing.

The bill which—was drafted by Idaho Family Policy Center and is sponsored by Rep. Bruce Skaug (R-Nampa)—would prevent local government entities, such as counties and cities, from enacting ordinances that impose antidiscrimination requirements beyond those present in state law.

In recent years, the Idaho Legislature has preempted rogue local governments in a wide variety of contexts, including gun control, knife control, ideological flags, mask mandates, and plastic grocery bag bans.

More than twelve Idaho cities and counties have adopted local antidiscrimination ordinances that contain the categories of sexual orientation and gender identity, including Bellevue, Boise, Coeur d’Alene, Driggs, Hailey, Idaho Falls, Ketchum, Lewiston, Meridian, Moscow, Pocatello, and Victor. These antidiscrimination ordinances are frequently weaponized against small business owners who don’t want to participate in events that violate their sincerely held beliefs, including same-sex wedding ceremonies and Pride festivals.

According to statewide public opinion polling, more than 71% of likely Idaho voters support protecting photographs, cake artists, and event planners with sincerely held religious beliefs from antidiscrimination ordinances.

A statement from Blaine Conzatti, President of Idaho Family Policy Center:

No small business owner should ever be forced to choose between violating their sincerely held religious beliefs or leaving the marketplace altogether. But local antidiscrimination ordinances are frequently weaponized against small business owners—especially wedding vendors or those offering creative design services.

Government officials have forced bakers, photographers, florists, graphic designers, and wedding venue operators to participate in same-sex wedding ceremonies and pride festivals. And that has even taken place here in Idaho, where more than a dozen Idaho cities have enacted ordinances that violate individual conscience rights.

We call on the Idaho Legislature to rein in these rogue local governments by ensuring that these local antidiscrimination ordinances align with state law.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a case brought by three Southern California churches seeking to open Christian preschools under a regulatory system that conditions licensure on the surrender of fundamental constitutional rights.

The case, Foothills Christian Ministries v. Bonta, arises from San Diego County, where three churches challenge the California Child Day Care Act and its accompanying regulatory scheme administered by the California Department of Social Services.

Under current California law, parochial preschools must accept restrictions that directly limit their religious mission. Among other requirements, religious preschools may not require participation in religious activities or attendance at religious services. They must post signage informing families that they may bring in an outside spiritual advisor, even when that advisor conflicts with the school’s faith commitments.

The regulatory scheme also authorizes unannounced inspections without a warrant, probable cause, or prior notice. State investigators may seize records and question employees without advising them of their rights, even though such inquiries may later be referred for criminal prosecution.

“These churches are asking for the constitutional protections every American institution is entitled to receive,” said Kevin Snider, lead attorney for the churches. “The government should not be permitted to condition a license on the waiver of rights guaranteed by the First and Fourth Amendments. Religious institutions must be free to carry out their mission within the bounds of the Constitution.”

After adverse rulings in the lower courts, PJI has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case, asserting that California’s licensing requirements violate the Free Exercise Clause, the Free Speech Clause, and the Fourth Amendment.

PJI Founder and President Brad Dacus said the case presents an important opportunity for the Court to reaffirm long standing constitutional principles.

“These churches seek the same constitutional protections Americans take for granted,” said Kevin Snider, lead attorney for the churches. “By entangling parochial schools in a web of unconstitutional regulations, the government seriously interferes with the spiritual formation of children.”

The three churches involved seek to open Christian preschools that integrate faith into daily instruction and spiritual formation, consistent with their sincerely held beliefs.

Pacific Justice Institute is a nonprofit legal organization dedicated to the defense of religious freedom, parental rights, and other civil liberties.

For more information about this case or Pacific Justice Institute, visit www.pacificjustice.org.

These are the times that try men’s souls.

Thomas Paine

It is a phrase many Americans recognize, often quoted without fully recalling its origin or urgency. Those words were written by Thomas Paine during the most dangerous period of the American Revolution, when independence was far from certain and loyalty to the British Crown remained widespread.

In December 1776, the Continental Army was retreating, morale was collapsing, and enlistments were expiring. The cause appeared close to failure. It was at this moment that Paine published the first installment of The American Crisis. Its opening line was not intended as poetry. It was a blunt assessment of reality, followed by a call to perseverance when defeat seemed more likely than victory. The essays were distributed widely and read aloud to soldiers and civilians alike, helping to steady a fragile movement when resolve was at its lowest point.

Thomas Paine was not a general, nor was he a statesman or landowner. He was an immigrant, born in 1737 in Thetford, England, the son of a working tradesman. When he arrived in America in 1774, he carried little money, no political connections, and no guarantee of success. What he did bring was a sharp mind, a moral clarity about liberty, and an uncommon ability to communicate complex political ideas in language ordinary people could understand.

When Common Sense and The American Crisis were published, Paine did not write for elites, philosophers, or established power brokers. He wrote for farmers, craftsmen, merchants, laborers, and soldiers. His prose was plain, deliberate, and uncompromising. He rejected the ornamental language common to political writing of the time and replaced it with arguments designed to persuade working people that self-government was not only possible, but necessary.

That historical fact raises an important question. Why should modern Americans care about documents written for the American colonies nearly 250 years ago? What practical value do they hold for current and future generations?

One of the most enduring messages from Common Sense, particularly relevant to Idahoans today, is Paine’s insistence that political power must always remain accountable to the people it governs. He rejected the idea that authority should be obeyed simply because it exists or because it has always existed. In Paine’s view, legitimacy flows upward from the consent of the governed, not downward from institutions, traditions, or titles. Elections matter, but they are only one expression of that consent, not the entirety of it.

Applied locally, this principle has direct consequences. Decisions about schools, land use, taxation, public safety, and regulation should never be treated as distant abstractions or inevitable outcomes. Paine would have warned that when citizens assume “someone else is handling it,” authority quietly drifts away from public oversight.

Common Sense reminds modern communities that liberty is not sustained by slogans or inherited systems. It requires daily responsibility, attention to detail, and a willingness to question whether decisions truly serve the public good.

Paine understood that freedom demanded endurance, sacrifice, and informed conviction. He warned that tyranny advances not only through force, but through apathy and fear, when citizens grow passive and disengaged.

During the Revolution, his essays reinforced the understanding that the struggle was not merely a military campaign, but a defense of principle. That lesson remains relevant. In North Idaho, in Kootenai County, our state, and across the country, civic engagement cannot be treated as optional or occasional.

Local governance is shaped not in distant capitals, but by those who show up, stay informed, and insist on accountability. Do we recognize that disengagement at the local level as a quiet surrender?

Another reason Thomas Paine matters today is that he never encouraged blind loyalty. In later writings, including Rights of Man, he argued that rights are inherent, not granted by governments or inherited through titles.

Governments exist to protect those rights, and when they fail to do so, they lose moral legitimacy. I believe that this was a radical assertion in his time, and it remains uncomfortable in ours.

It is reasonable to argue, and my opinion, that this philosophy is largely absent from modern education. Students are often taught the outcomes of the American Revolution without engaging the ideas that made it possible. When history is reduced to dates, battles, and names, its purpose is diminished. Paine did not simply record events. He provided the intellectual framework of the founding era. He explained why liberty mattered, why self-government was worth defending, and why citizens themselves bear responsibility for preserving both.

It is my opinion that the core lessons from Paine’s writings remain clear. Government must remain subordinate to the people. Liberty requires constant vigilance, especially during periods of uncertainty. Rights are inherent, yet fragile. An informed and engaged citizenry is not optional. It is the foundation of a free society.

Remembering Thomas Paine should not be an exercise in nostalgia.  His writings should remind Idahoans, and all Americans, that freedom was never guaranteed, never effortless, and never permanent without participation.

Note: The writings of Thomas Paine are widely available in print, digital, and audio formats through major booksellers, including Amazon.

There have been unprecedented attacks on the idea of enforcing laws via armed police forces across the county, including here in Idaho where the Office of County Sheriff is routinely under scrutiny.

In Idaho, a full-frontal assault on the sheriff’s office is mostly counterproductive, so the attacks come in a more underhanded way—targeted underfunding, a never-ending parade of civil lawsuits, votes of no-confidence, politically backed criminal investigations, attempts to institute state control, and malignment by independent podcasters and op-eds published by corporate press.

The Idaho Constitution establishes the office of sheriff. Article 18, Section 6 of the Idaho Constitution, along with state statutes (Idaho Code §31-2001 and §31-2003), affirms that the sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer of each county and is elected to a four-year term by the people.

According to Idaho Code §34-618, there are only three statutory requirement to hold office as a sheriff—be at least 21-years of age, be a citizen of the U.S., and reside in the county at least one year.

While newly elected sheriffs are given a tutorial on current Idaho statutes and attend informative meetings given by the Idaho Sheriff’s Associations, there are no additional educational, certification, or law enforcement experience requirements mandated by state law, and this is what some who do not like the political independence of the sheriff’s office are trying to change.

If Idaho required a sheriff to hold a certification from the Idaho State Police (ISP) via its Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) Academy, such a requirement would mean that ISP—under the direct command of the Idaho Governor—would be able to control an independent, constitutionally-established elected officer.

The primary duty of sheriffs in Idaho is to enforce all penal provisions and statutes of the state. This includes:

• Preserving the peace and arresting individuals who commit public offenses.
• Preventing and suppressing breaches of the peace, riots, and insurrections.
• Attending all courts within the county and obeying lawful court orders.
• Commanding the aid of county inhabitants when necessary.
• Taking charge of the county jail and prisoners.
• Serving legal process and notices, and certifying service.
• Investigating missing children cases promptly.
• Collaborating with the Idaho State Police on traffic enforcement, livestock theft prevention, and highway safety.
• Issuing driver’s licenses and identification cards in coordination with the Idaho Transportation Department. 

Additionally, Idaho Code §31-2227 declares that the sheriff and prosecuting attorney are the primary enforcers of penal laws in each county, superseding other local law enforcement agencies in that role. This gives the sheriff broad authority to act independently and even deputize citizens when necessary. In Kootenai County, this authority was been directly attacked by the City of Coeur d’Alene Deputy Prosecutor Ryan Hunter, as well as Rathdrum Police Chief Dan Haley, who gave sworn testimony during the prosecution of Paul Trouette. In Shoshone County, this authority has been questioned by police chiefs hired by city mayors.

Given the importance and broad authority of the office, Kootenai Journal encourages all citizens to know their elected sheriff. Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris regularly schedules events to directly interact with the community, please take time to attend one or two this year.

Strict comparisons between contemporary events and personalities and their historical analogues are compromised by the fact that every circumstance and individual is unique. Each moment has its unrepeatable combination of characteristics that defy a breezy 1:1 comparison.

Having said this, there are benefits in comparing past patterns and tendencies in order to gain perspective regarding controversies today. One of the most valid comparisons can be made between today’s United States and Ancient Rome.

As we in the Western World descend from Rome, it is not surprising to find many details that lend themselves to close comparison. The rise and fall of its Republic matters because our Founding Fathers closely imitated Rome. We inherited many of Rome’s strengths and weaknesses. We Americans must understand what destroyed the Roman Republic if we wish to avoid succumbing to the same loss of liberty.

The rise of Rome’s Empire and Christianity happened nearly side-by-side. As the United States broadly retains a Judeo-Christian mindset, we should understand how Christianity triumphed over three hundred years of intensifying persecution to ultimately become the Imperium’s official religion, transforming the Roman World and beyond.

Indeed, we have much to learn from the rise and fall of the Roman Republic, the rise of Christianity, and the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. One such insight involves trying to intuit what epoch of Roman history is most closely comparable to our own. This exercise offers perspective on how modern trends interact by seeing how analogous factors played out to the benefit or detriment of Rome’s people, society, and stability.

To me, the Presidencies of Donald Trump most fully compare with the Imperium of Septimius Severus from A.D. 193–211. If this analogy has validity, it means that we Americans have entered a new and harsher phase of history.

Like our Golden Age from 1945 through 2001, Rome’s Empire had previously reached heights of peace, prosperity, and power from Augustus’ rise after his victory at Actium in 31 B.C. through the end of the great Roman Peace with Commodus’ assassination in A.D. 192. Like us, the Romans had known such profound success for so very long that they had begun to take the comfort and stability of their lives for granted.

Septimius Severus was unusual in that he was the first North African Roman Emperor. He had Carthaginian blood. Never before and rarely since did the scions of Rome’s ancient Punic enemy become its rulers.

Severus rose to power as an Army Officer, becoming commander of Rome’s most powerful Army Group on the eastern frontier. He acquired the Empire by winning the longest and bloodiest Civil War since the founding of Rome’s Empire more than two centuries before.

Donald Trump came to his first Presidency by a route so unconventional that pundits openly mocked the very possibility that he could be elected. As a real estate tycoon, entrepreneur, and media personality, Trump is still not seen as being legitimate by elites within the permanent government, media, and academe, both within and beyond the United States.

Severus had no illusions about the Senate and People of Rome being relevant to Rome’s ongoing governance. Since Augustus’ founding of the Roman Empire in 27 B.C., Rome’s Emperors had to varying degrees behaved as if the Roman Senate still ruled. Instead, Rome was, in fact, a monarchy with republican forms.

While retaining the symbolism of the Senate and People of Rome (SPQR) on legionary standards and allowing the Senate to go through the motions of convening, Severus made certain that they would decide nothing of significance.

Donald Trump does not even pretend to be faithful to the norms of modern American Presidents, going back to William Howard Taft in 1909. He is improvisational rather than restrained, brash rather than diplomatic, calculatedly coarse rather than refined, and bold rather than dignified. He behaves more like a political street fighter than as a Head of State. It is, indeed, shocking to those who expect conventionality. But, his exuberance does clarify his priorities.

Septimius’ rule derived from the application of naked military force. This clarity improved the Empire’s ability to defend itself from the Parthian Empire in what is now Iraq, as well as from a ring of barbarians from central Britain to the Carpathian Mountains, and from the Nile River to the Moroccan Desert.

He personally led in the defeat of the Parthian Empire in the East as well as of the Picts in today’s Scotland. In Asia, Africa, and Europe, Severus expanded Rome’s borders to maximize Roman military power and overawe its enemies.

Donald Trump leads a Free World that is deep in denial about the existential threats we all share. While China reaches for global supremacy, Western elites in Europe, Canada, and America obsess over “Man-Made Climate Change” as if its predictions since the first Earth Day back in 1970 had not been proven false. While China’s allies in Russia, Iran, North Korea, and elsewhere work to undermine American power, the international Left tries to reinvent everything from private property and freedom of expression to biological sex.

Septimius’ wife, Julia Domna, also came from an unusual background; a family of Sun Priests of Emesa (Homs), Syria. She was the most influential Empress in over 150 years, involving herself and her family more fully as a royal family than had been typical in Rome. After Septimius’ death, she and other Syrian female relatives dominated Roman affairs through flawed male Emperors for nearly two decades.

Our First Lady, Melania, hails from the former Yugoslavia. She understands the genuinely exceptional freedoms and opportunities inherent to our American Republic. As such, instead of the fashionable elite contempt for America and Americans, Melania Trump loves America and supports our cultural resurgence.

The Severan dynasty managed Rome’s transition from dominion over a vast Imperial territory towards the time when Rome would come to face an existential crisis. Without its military and territorial improvements, Rome might not have withstood the doubled danger on its northern frontier as Goths supplanted Germans. More critically, it might not have endured the quintupled danger eastward as Parthia was overthrown by a new Sassanid Persian Empire.

Septimius stabilized the Roman World after the shock of the Civil War that preceded him. His reforms were seen as crass and needlessly rude by the Empire’s Patrician elite, but he and his family preserved Roman preeminence during a critical forty years when Rome’s enemies grew conspicuously stronger.

Donald Trump is trying to prepare the United States, North America, and the wider Western World for the intensification of human conflict that is probably coming. His strategic initiatives in Greenland, Canada, Venezuela, Europe, the Middle-East, South Asia, and East Asia are all intended to help protect free peoples from Chinese Communist aggression in a world situation that will likely descend into a perpetual state of anarchy and violence, somewhere between
war and peace.

No, Donald Trump is not an exact copy of Septimius Severus. He is an elected President, not a military Dictator. He acts within Constitutional limits, rather than as an Absolute Monarch. Today’s American Republic is not the Roman Empire between Pax Romana and Crisis; freedom, Judeo-Christian values, industry, and technology give us many more opportunities to restore ourselves.

But the world has been darkening since at least the Terrorist Atrocities of 9/11/01. Each year, our enemies seem stronger and we seem more divided. Like Septimius Severus, Donald Trump is a rough man of action determined to acquire the national power necessary to withstand the coming storm.