Today, while watching a press conference with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, I heard words that cut straight to the core of our moment. He said:
"To the members of the press who are assembled here today and listening across the country, I am asking for your courage to tell it like it is. This is not a time to pretend here that there are two sides to this story. This is not a time to fall back into the reflexive crouch that I so often see."
Those words rang true. They struck a chord that has been resonating with me for years. Because as a member of the press—watching, listening, and bearing witness—I feel an obligation to tell it exactly as it is. There are not “two sides” to what we are witnessing right now. There is only the truth. And telling that truth without apology takes independence.
That’s why I want to pause here and ask something important of you. If you value reporting that doesn’t flinch, that doesn’t bow to pressure, that refuses to put lies and truth on equal footing, then I’m asking you to support it directly. Your subscriptions are what make this possible.
Subscribe
They are what allow me to write honestly without fear of losing advertisers or being muzzled by corporate owners. When you subscribe, you’re not just supporting me—you’re supporting the idea that journalism should serve people, not power. You’re saying that truth matters, even when it’s inconvenient, even when it’s uncomfortable, even when it’s dangerous to speak aloud.
Watch what Pritzker said:
The current White House is steering our country down a dangerous path that many of us never imagined we’d see in our lifetimes.
Just look at the past 24 hours.
First, Donald Trump and the White House began assembling National Guard units to send into Chicago—despite the fact that the Governor of Illinois did not request them, and despite the fact that the administration’s rationale was built on lies. They spread deliberate falsehoods about crime statistics in Chicago and in so-called “blue” cities, weaponizing fear to justify federal overreach.
Next, the White House signed an executive order restricting the First Amendment rights of Americans who wish to burn the flag. Let me be clear: I don’t encourage flag burning, and most people never will. But the Supreme Court has affirmed again and again that flag burning is a form of constitutionally protected speech. It is not the job of the President to decide which expressions of free speech are acceptable and which are not.
And finally, in a chilling move, Donald Trump threatened to strip broadcast licenses from two of the nation’s largest media organizations—NBC and ABC News—simply because their coverage did not flatter him. That is not democracy. That is not freedom of the press. That is censorship, intimidation, and a direct assault on one of the most vital institutions that keeps our republic alive.
All of this—just in a single day.
So let me say this clearly: I am done with the false equivalence. I am done with the tired reflex of treating truth and lies as though they are just opposing “opinions” to be balanced. Governor Pritzker’s challenge is one I accept without hesitation. As a rising journalist, I refuse to both-sides these issues, because doing so is a betrayal of the truth and a disservice to the people I serve.
Some in the media will continue to bow to sponsors, to shareholders, or even to the White House itself. But I won’t. I will not stand idly by while our history is rewritten in real time, while truth is twisted beyond recognition, while the foundations of our democracy are chipped away.
And let me be clear: this isn’t about politics. This is not an “anti-Trump” message. If a Democratic president took these same actions—lying to the public, weaponizing federal forces against states, eroding free speech, and threatening independent media—I would be writing these very same words. This is about truth, accountability, and the role of a free press in a free society.
So, to echo Governor Pritzker, this is not the time to pretend there are two sides to this story. There is only one side: the truth. And telling it without apology, without hesitation, and without compromise is the job I have chosen—and the job I will not abandon.
Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever.