There is an evidence-based argument supported by an array of facts that certain U.S. public agencies designed to protect health, safety, access to proper food and shelter have in several cases been documented to serve special interests or a hidden agenda rather than the public interest for which they were ostensibly created. This MHProNews facts-evidence-analysis (FEA) model article will briefly explore a mashup of examples of cases outside of housing that have both direct and indirect impact on affordable housing. According to a recent public opinion poll, 9.11 ranks higher than the COVID19 outbreak as one of the most impactful events in modern (contemporary lifetime) U.S. history. The 9.11.2001 terror attacks ranked #1, Covid19 ranked #2, with the elections of Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump ranking #3 and #4. The housing/financial crisis of 2008 and creation of the internet ranked lower, per Ipsos’ findings. From the official commission report (see that among the headlines for the week in review) it is learned that Clinton Administration (D) officials fumbled in part by siloing the FBI and CIA. These newly declassified CIA documents provided below provide a clear link to Bush Administration (R) failures to prevent the known Osama bin Ladin led al Qa’ida (a.k.a.: al Qaeda) supported attacks masterminded by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s (KSM). Quoting: “The commission report — published in July 2004 as a breakdown of what occurred and the security failures that led to the attacks — recounts 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s (KSM) version of events.” But some may wonder, as former Secretary Hillary Clinton (D) did when questioned by Congress about the Benghazi attacks, “What difference, at this point, does it make?” Like it or not, she gave a fair – in a strictly tactical sense – rhetorical response. More on both the CIA and Clinton elements of this FEA model mashup report are below. In diving into those details, keep the bigger picture in mind. Agencies that are supposed to protect the interests of the broader public good are often demonstrably failing in very specific ways. Aspects of the importance of that notion will be addressed further below, including via this Sunday weekly MHVille headlines in review.

 

 

1. The Benghazi attacks also occurred on 9.11.2011 (the one-decade anniversary of the original terror attacks) occurred during the Obama-Biden (D) years with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) ‘in the loop’ of decision making that fateful day.

 

 

2. The effort by some to deflect from history runs deeply in American society. Deflection or ‘ducking’ as a tactic occurs not just only in politics, but in business, nonprofits, media or other professions too. Deflection, de facto censoring or ignoring valid concerns occurs in manufactured housing. Like or dislike Hillary Clinton and her politics, ‘What difference does it make?’ is a fair question. But the reality is that the answer to Secretary Clinton’s response shown above could curiously and paradoxically have been provided by fellow Democrat, then House Majority Whip James Clyburn (SC-D).

 

 

3. What difference does some past event (9.11.2001, 9.11.2011, the various Middle Eastern ‘War on Terror’ conflicts since, the housing/financial crisis, Covid19 outbreak, and the list could go on) does call thinking people to lean in. Is history important? If so, why and how so? Is history something we can and should learn from, as former history professor turned Congressman Jim Clyburn suggested?

4. Each of our own experiences are our personal history. The experiences of our friends, family, coworkers, fellow worshipers, the people at the pump or grocery store, and the broader society are all part of history. In applying for a job, the prospective employer typically wants a resume, which is some personal work history. Reviewing an investment opportunity’s financial track record is yet another part of history. History in its various forms is arguably critical for learning. Without historic insights, mistakes and errors keep getting repeated. Who says?

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

George Santayana, per Quote Investigator, in his book: The Life of Reason, or The Phases of Human Progress.

Deflection is a parallel method to these 6 Ds: Duck, Dodge, Dismiss, Distract, Detract and Defame. This specific graphic below as first uploaded on MHProNews on September 23, 2017.  Meaning, for some 9 years, MHProNews has periodically shared and considered examples with readers here of how various verbal tactics are used to spin or misdirect public attention as a dodge for accountability. 

 

 

5. Party labels, or other branding have significance. But those who refuse to look beyond the labels’ or brands’ words are stuck in their own silo by definition. By seeking to objectively sample authentic insights across the spectrum, understanding can flow, which is precisely what good history ought to be doing. MHProNews observes that such is true in or beyond our respective profession.

6. Back to bin Ladin and pre-9.11 warnings delivered in the CIA’s PBD to President George W. Bush (R).

 

 

7. On July 24, 2001, weeks before the 9.11 attacks (see report linked among headlines in review, further below, for more context) was the following.

 

 

“KSM claims to have faced similar pressure twice more in 2001. According to him, Bin Ladin wanted the operation carried out in May 2001 … KSM adds that the 9/11 attacks had originally been envisioned for May 2001,” the commission report stated. “The second time he was urged to launch the attacks early was in June or July 2001 … on both occasions, KSM resisted, asserting that the hijacking teams were not ready. Bin Ladin pressed particularly strongly for the latter date in two letters stressing the need to attack early.”

8. MHProNews, using the facts-evidence-analysis (FEA) model, observes that trillions upon trillions of dollars have been spent on the military and intelligence services, yet the 9.11.2001 attacks weren’t blocked by supposed layers of security measures in place? To pivot to another protection example, Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate then candidate Trump at a Butler PA rally on 7.13.2024. How did the Secret Service flub that near miss that hit Trump’s ear but killed a spectator, a Pennsylvania fire chief Corey Comperatore behind Trump who was struck and killed, while two others in that part of the crowd were wounded. Systemic failures are a common part of American and world history.

 

 

9. For those with friends, family or who have served in the military, intelligence, or first responder arenas, none of this is meant to in any way undermine support for Americans who served with honor. Rather, it is to spotlight and question apparent bi-partisan leadership failures. To some degree, Clinton (D) and Bush (R) each shared in the responsibility for the American deaths that occurred that day to the extent that they could have been avoided or mitigated. Details aplenty, including academic style AI cross checks, are in the Path to 9.11 Report linked among the headlines for the week in review, shown further below among our headlines for the week in review.

10. The American economy and the very liberties we are celebrating on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026 are significantly impacted by governmental behavior. Cash isn’t infinite.  So, money wasted – on whatever, whenever or wherever – is money that could have been utilized better elsewhere. Lives, limbs, liberty and lucre (loot or cash) should not in the ideal be squandered. History, properly used, can guide accountability and thus voting or other decision making. So, reviewing historical evidence that directly or indirectly impacts our specific focus on housing, manufactured homes, or factory-building more broadly are routine fare here on MHProNews precisely because they ought to be part of any good media analysis and reporting.

History teaches lessons directly and indirectly, but only for those paying close attention. If a massive systemic failure can occur on 9.11, why are we any less likely to think that systemic failures can’t occur in other parts of our society, including affordable housing and manufactured housing?

Do you see the indirect – but arguably relevant – nature of that connection? Plus, money wasted on X (whatever X may be) is money not available for other things, including housing affordability.

11. Recall that HUD officials Pamela Blumenthal and Regina Gray explained how both major parties knew the underlying causes of the affordable housing crisis, and by implication they should know the cure that has eluded Americans, for over 50 years (see here and below). That’s history, which HUD’s own staff reported time and again, and which ought to be a source for potential lessons learned.

 

 

12. Leaders from both major parties knew, or should have known, how allowing investment in Communist China would strip our nation of its factories and jobs steadily over time. The contemporary political, economic, social, supply chain and related problems may have all been avoided had past leaders in the U.S. handled Communist China differently. It is yet another example of public officials undermining, instead of supporting, the interests of tens of millions of Americans. Yet investments in Communist China benefited a narrow segment of certain American corporate interests. That too has touch-points with manufactured housing, plus American society more broadly.

 

 

 

13. It is a mistake to think of any candidate or merely human individual as some omniscient ‘savior’ figure. With two rare exceptions, that vast majority of mere humans make mistakes. Humans have flaws. That said, it was candidate Trump who had the chutzpah to challenge not only Democratic Party leadership but also the so-called Bush-wing of the Republican Party “establishment.” Like him or not, give each person their due. Related, perhaps among the more important speeches of the recent GOP midterm convention was the one given by former lifelong Democrat Robert F. (“Bobby”) Kennedy Jr. Kennedy, who explained the role Charlie Kirk played in bridging the gap between himself and Trump.  Kennedy said last Thursday before tens of thousands live and millions via video and social media that after meeting and subsequently working with President Trump, RFK Jr said he realized that every major claim made by mainstream media about Trump was a lie.

This was the most powerful speech yet from the RNC, maybe of the entire year. RFK Jr. was masterful.

Worth watching every word. https://t.co/9SaMVyNizL pic.twitter.com/y1inWv5fpB

— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) September 11, 2026

These were political rivals at one point that found sufficient common ground to work together, hopefully, for the public good. How that alliance plays out is another topic.

14. Months and years before Kennedy became a member of the Trump Administration (R), MHProNews periodically spotlighted aspects of RFK Junior’s thinking and efforts. That’s not to endorse everything that Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr. Bobby Kennedy, etc.) has ever said or done. The principle of separating the wheat from the chaff still applies to Kennedy, Trump, or any of us.

 

 

 

15. Kennedy’s run for the Democratic presidential nomination was in several respects historic. Kennedy was willing to call out corruption in the party that he grew up in, the Democratic Party. When it became clear to Kennedy that the Democratic Party establishment were once more ‘rigging’ the primary process (instead of behaving democratically, as even former Democratic Party chair Donna Brazile later revealed in her book), Kennedy bolted.

 

 

16. Like it or not, elections in the U.S. largely boil down to a binary (this or that) choice between Democrats and Republicans. There have arguably been scurrilous and tragic errors made by members of both major parties, as even this relatively brief review reflects. But you can’t (or shouldn’t) throw out the proverbial baby with the bath water. A pragmatic binary choice (this or that) must be made between those two parties in part because no third-party candidate has won a national election since Abraham Lincoln did (Republicans were the third-party at that time). That pragmatically binary choice has been framed at times by pundits as the lesser of two evils, but perhaps a better way of expressing it is a choice for the greater (if still imperfect) good. When briefly a trillionaire Elon Musk at least temporarily abandoned the idea of forming a third-party, given all of his financial and media resources, it should be considered as an unlikely for a true third-party that can directly challenge the two major parties is likely to occur at this time. 

 

Theodore Roosevelt ran as a third-party candidate for the Progressive (Bull Moose) Party in 1912 after failing to secure the Republican nomination. He finished second behind Democrat Woodrow Wilson, losing the election. (His earlier two terms as president, from 1901 to 1909, were won as a Republican)¹.

That bit of history noted, what the DSA and Trump (former Democrat supporter, former Reform Party supporter, etc.) examples reveal is that clearly different movements (socialists and MAGA) have learned to work within the two-party structure to capture and gain influence that way. The DSA is working to increasingly capture Democratic seats. That has been occurring for years. Trump and so-called MAGA supporters by contrast in a parallel move have been capturing more and more of the Republican Party’s seats and offices. The old Democratic Party of President Jack and his AG Bobby Kennedy led, as RFK Jr said last Thursday said, is largely gone among Democrats. The old Republican Party of Bush and the Koch brothers is largely gone. It may be going too far to say that the old Democratic or Republican parties are dead. But both major parties have been experiencing the ebb and flow of social, economic and political movements as they play out in their respective camps.

As an email on 9.12.2026 to MHProNews from the Democratic Party said: “This is an email from the Democratic National Committee about our work to take back control of Congress this November.” It was about “If you’ve stored your info with ActBlue, we’ll process your split contribution between Abdul El-Sayed and the Democratic National Committee instantly…” Abdul El-Sayed may not formally be a DSA candidate, but he has campaigned with DSA candidates. El-Sayed is an example of how the DNC is increasingly cozying up to those who are either openly socialist-supporting or who campaign with those who are socialist (e.g.: DSA) supporting individuals.

17. So, for over 150 years, third-party candidates have for a variety of reasons failed to win the White House. Relevant Radio’s Drew Mariani has insightfully said he doesn’t follow the Donkey or the Elephant, he follows the Lamb. Meaning, Mariani and others let principles – not merely a party label – tell them how to vote and who to support.

 

 

18. The so-called Trump Dividend of $5000 per adult (see report in the headlines in review for more) may or may not occur even if Trump-led Republicans win the House and Senate. But what is far more certain that a $5000 Trump Dividend if the GOP wins both the House and Senate in the 2026 midterms less than 2 months away is this. Democrats have been tilting more towards the left with Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) candidates beating Establishment Democrats. Meaning, the 2026 midterms come down to a binary choice. Democrats who are increasingly being infiltrated by self-avowed socialists and communists, vs. Republicans who more or less support Trump and the “Make America Great Again” agenda. A few X-post screen captures paints a quick picture of the shifting sands of U.S. politics.

 

 

19. The DSA’s own website says they favor policies that would effectively re-open the border, end prisons, undermine the nuclear family and its rights while raising taxes. How does that make life safer or more affordable? In fairness to a given source, let them speak/communicate and then compare what they assert to the known record. The lack of “affordability” and open borders were among the factors that propelled Trump into a second non-consecutive term in office. Recall why Trump won, which included the results of the Biden-Harris (D) economy.

 

 

20. The above are reminders among the factors why large numbers of Blacks and Hispanics voted for Trump and the GOP in 2024. How various subsets of American society will vote in the midterms is a matter of debate. Some Republicans say most of the races are settled in ‘safe’ Democrat or Republican districts. The control of Congress in the midterms could come down to a few dozen ‘battleground’ seats. Right or wrong, both major parties are attempting to demonize their opponents and to mobilize their own bases.

How that political/messaging chess match plays out absolutely will impact our manufactured housing profession and all others as well.

21. Don’t miss today’s postscript.

With no further adieu, here are the headlines for this week in review from 9.6 to today, 9.13.2026.

 

Sunday Weekly MHVille Headlines in Review

What’s New, Recent and Select from MHLivingNews

 

 

 

From Tim Connors, CSP and his Words of Wisdom