VIDEO OF THE DAY: Obama official humiliates Fox host on his own show
Brian Tyler Cohen sits down with Pod Save America's Tommy Vietor to discuss his masterful takedown of smirking oaf Jesse Watters on his own show.
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Donald Trump is weaker than he looks
Branko Marcetic, Jacobin: "As promised, Donald Trump has kicked off his presidency with a show of 'speed and strength.' Citing what he has called a 'massive' mandate, complete with a 'powerful win in all seven swing states and the popular vote,' Trump has launched what his allies termed a strategy of 'shock and awe,' alluding to the massive bombing campaign that made way for the US invasion of Iraq. Trump unleashed a blitz of dozens of executive orders on everything from pulling the United States out of global agreements and rescinding Biden-era directives, to laying the groundwork for a large-scale purge of the federal workforce and taking aim at conservative bugbears like birthright citizenship and wind energy. In short, it seems like the worst fears of what a second Trump presidency would mean are coming true: of an unstoppable right-wing wrecking ball that will leave a very different country behind in the ruins of what it’s smashed. This is certainly what the president would want his demoralized opposition to believe. But for all the big talk, both Trump’s presidency and his political project are more fragile than either side realizes. For one, cracks are already starting to show in Trump’s coalition, having appeared before he was even inaugurated. Another potential vulnerability for Trumpworld is that the president is inheriting several potential crises. On the home front, Trump inherits the fallout of several historic natural disasters, including ongoing destructive wildfires in California, the state that contributes 14 percent of the country’s GDP — the state is now in need of vital aid, which Trump and his allies have threatened to turn into a political football, and which one of his anti-immigrant executive orders has already jeopardized. That’s not to mention the countless other emergencies that could pop up during his term, from the inevitable next set of climate disasters to the next financial crash. One of Trump’s signature issues, massive across-the-board tariffs on imports from the United States’ two closest neighbors and China, is tipped to make everything from vegetables and beer to toys, cars, and a host of other consumer goods more expensive. Finally, though the conventional wisdom in Trump’s orbit now seems to be that his first term was simply done in by saboteurs and a vengeful establishment, this is looking back with rose-tinted glasses. Trump and his team were often their own worst enemies, saying and doing inflammatory things and pointlessly stirring up controversy in ways that hampered his presidency and undermined his public support. Despite a brief flirtation with a more disciplined approach, plenty from both the campaign and these past few weeks — including the sudden U-turn on the debt ceiling deal that sent his own party scrambling — doesn’t suggest much has changed. While Trump will no doubt do plenty of damage in the next four years, viewing him as a triumphant, indomitable conqueror may be exactly what he wants."
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Trump unleashes terrifying assault on immigrant families
United We Dream Action: On his first day in office, Donald Trump launched an all-out attack on our immigrant communities, signing an executive order to repeal birthright citizenship and began preparations for mass deportation raids in major American cities. These deportation raids will upend people’s lives, tear families apart, disrupt businesses and communities, and will forever be a black stain on our nation’s history. But United We Dream Action is fighting back to keep our communities safe — will you chip in to support their efforts to stop Trump's mass deportations?
How to take heart from what really worked in the first Resistance
Theda Skocpol, The New Republic: "For many Americans who voted against Donald Trump, the national news right now is hard to take, as Republican winners make over-the-top claims, business leaders bow down, and U.S. senators endorse dangerously unqualified Cabinet nominees. Worst of all are headlines like Politico’s postelection 'The Resistance Is Not Coming to Save You. It’s Tuning Out.' If streets and airports are not immediately mobbed with demonstrators, as happened in 2017, many pundits seem to presume that opponents of Trumpism are throwing in the towel. But this misreads the moment. Across the country, many are resolved to resist using effective tactics that will not backfire. As a political scientist who tracked citizen efforts in the first anti-Trump resistance and visited eight counties repeatedly to talk to leaders and observe meetings, I realize the place to start is understanding what really worked back then. Although marches and lawsuits sent powerful signals, they did not power the key victories. What worked instead were persistent, community-based efforts by 2,000 to 3,000 grassroots Resistance groups in every town, city, and suburb across virtually all congressional districts. Women and men in these grassroots groups met regularly, informed themselves about the local implications of Trump initiatives—above all about his push with Republicans to repeal Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Then they spelled out the dire consequences for patients and hospitals and health clinics in their communities and states, speaking in plain English to neighbors, friends, and co-workers. If 'truth and consequences' teams swing into action across the country, they can make a big difference."
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Trump is trying to destroy public health in America
Gregg Gonsalves, The Nation: "Even before President Trump was inaugurated a second time, it was clear that his approach to health policy would be spectacularly destructive. His nominees for key public health posts were either unqualified or so deeply mired in conspiracy theories about issues from vaccines to Covid that it was hard to see how these choices had any redeemable virtues. Once you see that the Trump administration is marching us to collective self-immolation, you can stop asking about motives and focus on what tools will be brought to bear on this singular vision to destroy ourselves. If you wanted to destroy public health in America, the Trumpistas are off to a good start—even without deranged lunatics like RFK Jr. officially in post. First, key communications from federal health agencies are now under a blackout. Information is the lifeblood of the work we do in public health. Now, we see the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)—where the first news of potential health threats gets posted—taken offline. A closed-door briefing by CDC for state health officials on H5N1 was also canceled. Trump hit the pause button on communications in his first term too, but this version is far more expansive, with more agencies caught in the net. On Wednesday, panicky posts on social media started to emerge from researchers across the country. Study sections—the peer review panels that choose which grants to recommend for funding at the National Institutes of Health— had been canceled without warning, putting the flow of research dollars in limbo. Most Americans probably don’t know this, but so much of what we take for granted when we seek care in the US—the medicines, the diagnostics, the procedures—have come out of NIH research. These moves are desperately capricious and foolish, but the stakes couldn’t be higher. The picture of a child at the controls of a nuclear reactor comes to mind, poking randomly at buttons with his short, stubby fingers. The health and well-being of Americans hang in the balance and can all go up in smoke."
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