Welcome to another edition of Fourth & Democracy: where the playbook meets the public square.
A former president said that aliens are real and the mainstream media barely made a noise. A popular left-wing streamer had things to say about Gavin Newsom that didn’t sit well with liberals in the party. And we’re knee deep in the Epstein files but still aren’t hearing much about Zorro Ranch.
There’s a lot to get to this week, so let’s get started.
1st & 10: Obama Says Aliens Are Real
A former president said that aliens are real and as a whole we’re just not going to talk about it?!
Former President Barack Obama stopped by the No Lie podcast with Brian Tyler Cohen and subtly dropped the kind of comment that normally sends the internet into a spiral.
Asked directly whether aliens are real, Obama didn’t dodge the question. He didn’t try to laugh it off. He also didn’t confirm a secret hangar full of extraterrestrial beings at Area 51.
Instead, he delivered the most Obama answer imaginable.
“They’re real, but I haven’t seen them, and they’re not being kept in – what is it – Area 51.” he said before cracking a smile. “There’s no underground facility – unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the President of the United States.”
But he also didn’t pretend that the mystery had been solved. Pilots have seen things. Sensors have recorded things. And despite advances in technology and surveillance, some of it still doesn’t fit neatly into what we know about physics or propulsion.
What made the moment notable wasn’t necessarily aliens so much as the tone. In an era where political figures insist on absolute certainty (or the presentation of it), Obama modeled the comfort through uncertainty that felt like home.
The takeaway wasn’t the truth is out there. It was much more simple than that. It reminded of us of a time where the most honest answer from power is just, “We don’t know everything yet.”
And that honesty might be the most reassuring thing we’ve heard from a former president in a while.
2nd & 10: Is Hasan Right About Newsom?
If you want an idea of where the Democratic coalition is right now, look no further than the discourse surrounding Hasan Piker’s appearance on the I’ve Had It podcast, where he said that if the general election (2028) came down to Gavin Newsom vs. JD Vance, he would “probably vote third party.”
This wasn’t just a hot take, it was a signal flare. Because at the exact moment the party’s donor and mainstream media class is increasingly treating Newsom like the obvious next standard bearer and early frontrunner in the 2028 conversation, Hasan basically said: if that’s the menu, I’m not eating.
Piker has become one of the most notable influencers on the left. He spends hours each day speaking to young politically engaged viewers on Youtube and other platforms and even took a controversial trip to communist China last year. He framed the logic of his comments in the bleakest possible terms: that it “doesn’t even matter” at that point.
Then, as the backlash hit, he clarified online that he’d vote for “anyone who sincerely believes” in sweeping change – things like universal healthcare and real material improvements – while rejecting what he called “obey in advance” pressure from Democrats who demand loyalty before offering an agenda.
The reaction split exactly how you’d expect. Some Democrats and center-left commentators argued it was irresponsible, especially in the realities of our two-party system where any third party voting in a close election can functionally help Republicans win. Others defended his point as the only leverage voters get: a vote is earned, not owned, and endless harm reduction becomes a substitute for leadership when the party refuses to offer anything transformative.
So is Hasan right about Newsom?
He’s right about the pattern. If Democrats keep elevating candidates who feel like a polished continuation of the same status quo, they shouldn’t be shocked when young voters flirt with staying home. But he’s also flirting with a fantasy if the idea that a viable national third party candidate can be conjured at the presidential level without serious infrastructure, ballot access fights, and local power built years in advance.
The uncomfortable truth is this: Hasan’s comments landed because it touched the nerve that Democrats refuse to address. If Newsom is the favorite, the base is asking a simple question: favorite for who, exactly?
3rd & Long: Why is No One Talking About Zorro Ranch?
We’ve heard the greatest hits of the Epstein story by now. The Manhattan townhouse, the Palm Beach mansion, the connections to Mar-a-Lago, the private jet, and most of all Little St. James, the island that became shorthand for everything horrifying about his operation.
But there’s another location that keeps surfacing in the newly released files and remains largely under-discussed: Zorro Ranch, Epstein’s property outside Santa Fe, New Mexico. Nearly 10,000 acres with a massive residence and creepy looking crop circles.
Survivors and witnesses have long alleged abuse connected to the ranch and the new document releases have poured gasoline on an already uncomfortable question: why does this place still feel like an afterthought compared to the island?
One reason is simple, the island is cinematic. The ranch is not. It’s remote, landlocked, and easier to ignore. But if you’re trying to understand how Epstein operated – how he remained hidden, moved people, and insulated himself – Zorro Ranch might be the most revealing piece on the map.
According to the New Mexico Land Commissioner, Stephanie Garcia Richard, to her knowledge neither Zorro Ranch nor the nearby state land has ever been searched as part of a criminal investigation. Which is a staggering claim given how many other Epstein properties became the focus of public scrutiny.
An even darker allegation is circulating as well: a 2019 email included in the files contains a claim that two foreign girls were buried on public land leased near the ranch – an allegation that is unverified, but serious enough that officials have called for an investigation.
Meanwhile, the ranch itself isn’t sitting abandoned in the desert. According to reporting, it is now owned by the family of Don Huffines, a Texas Republican and comptroller candidate who bought it at public auction after Epstein’s death.
So, if Little St. James is where the public imagination goes, Zorro Ranch is where the unanswered questions live – about what happened, what evidence still exists, and why this particular site seems to have escaped the kind of scrutiny that became routine everywhere else Epstein touched.
4th & Democracy: Who Goes First: Bondi or Noem?
Every Trump administration eventually turns inward – and frankly, it’s surprising the cabinet has lasted this long in the second term. The chaos stops being ideological and starts being personnel. And right now, two names sit at the front of the line: Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem.
Both women were supposed to be stabilizers and loyal servants. Both have instead become liabilities.
Bondi’s Justice Department has been marked by selective enforcement, public credibility problems, and repeated failures to provide transparency with the Epstein files. Whether it’s deflecting in House Judiciary hearings, struggling to articulate legal standards under oath, or appearing more like a political shield than a chief law enforcement officer, the result has been the same: erosion of any institutional trust at the moment DOJ legitimacy matters most.
Noem, meanwhile, has overseen the Department of Homeland Security that seems perpetually reactive. Immigration messaging has been muddled, operational clarity lacking, and internal reports suggest policy confusion more than command. DHS is supposed to project competence and instead it’s projecting drift.
In a normal administration, this might lead to reshuffling. In Trump’s regime, it leads to a public sacrifice.
Trump’s loyalty has always been conditional, and history shows it’s even thinner for women. When pressure mounts, he doesn’t protect – he blames. He doesn’t correct course, he finds someone to throw overboard. Bondi and Noem both fit the profile of officials who can be sacrificed without destabilizing Trump’s personal power – and without threatening the inner circle.
But firing either one creates a new problem.
Replacing an attorney general or a DHS secretary in this environment isn’t simple. Any successor would face brutal confirmation fights, unified Democratic opposition, and scrutiny shaped by the very scandals that forced the firing. A hardliner nominee could stall for months. A “moderate” nominee would anger the base. Either way, Senate confirmation becomes a choke point.
So the question isn’t just who goes first. It’s what the administration can accomplish or afford afterward.
If Bondi goes, DOJ becomes even more politicized during the gap and with Todd Blanche as interim. If Noem goes, DHS drifts further without steady leadership. And if neither does, the dysfunction becomes the story.
In Trump world, that usually means someone is about to be fired – not because it fixes anything, but because it buys time.
What to Watch
The Night Agent (Season 3) – Netflix
One of my favorite series on Netflix deals with an FBI agent tasked with guarding a sole phone in a secluded basement at the White House. FBI agent Peter Sutherland is back for a third season this week, so catch up on the first two if you haven’t seen them before Thursday’s premier.
Cross (Season 2) – Prime Video
Based on the bestselling Alex Cross novels by James Patterson, Cross returns for Season 2 with Alex Cross pulled deeper into a case that blurs the lines between professional duty and personal cost. This time, the hunt isn’t about catching a killer, but about navigating power, corruption, and the psychological toll of being the one who has to see the truth first.
What to Read
Lawless Republic: The Rise of Cicero and the Decline of Rome by Josiah Osgood (2025)
A recently published historical analogy that examines how political decay and legal erosion ended the Roman Republic. The parallels to contemporary distrust in American institutions makes this feel eerily relevant today.
A robust primary will hopefully find Democrats a popular and widely supported candidate. But for God’s sake people…this is not the time to be flirting with a third Party. And note to ‘ 4th and Democracy ”…try not to recommend programs on Amazon Prime……let’s abandon Bezos’ productions insofar as possible, until and unless he comes to his senses…….
I am not convinced that Newsome gets thru the primary unless he repudiates his stance on the billionaire tax in California. The Democrats need to understand what the Democratic establishment and the DC consultants refuse to understand is that the people want leaders who will engage in real structural change which means finding ways to end the vast income inequality that grows worse by the day. And that begins with restoration of marginal tax rates to pre-Reagan levels, a wealth tax on every penny over say $500M, ending tax breaks for second homes, private jets and yachts, lifting the social security tax cap, and once and for all - universal single payer health care. Newsome is not the guy who will champion much, if any, of that agenda.