Category: Uncategorized

Analysis: In the late 19th century the U.S. shifted away from a system where every time a new president is elected essentially the entirety of the federal government is fired and replaced with loyalists, which in turn led to patronage and bribery for government positions. What Trump & Musk are doing now, disguised as government efficiency, is essentially returning to that system. Government employees have long held protections from these firings in an attempt to prevent a return to a system of patronage. That has now been changed, and the long-lasting effects will be brutal on the U.S. ability to fight rising authoritarianism.

Analysis: Congress is letting Trump and Elon walk all over them and their congressional power. This is due to 1) Republican congressmen being happy to show their loyalty to Trump to earn favor, and 2) Elon is pushing forward with real cuts and moves they themselves wanted to take but didn’t want to face the backlash for. This inaction by Congress to protect their independent power will most likely continue until we reach a singularity in which Trump or Elon partake is such a revolting move that Congress MUST act or face the will of the voters.

Analysis: As seen throughout the last two weeks Trump continues his crusade on civil servants, many of those whose work is non-political. These employees throughout the government stand as a wall between chaos and law and order. Their individual decisions, and sometimes inaction or resignation, hold greater impact over Trump and his administration than even public disapproval. In many cases, civil servants’ resignation is the spark needed to bring attention to a blatantly illegal or unethical decision from an administration.

Analysis: With incoming Defense Secretary Hegseth a new tone has been set for NATO and all U.S. military relations, we no longer care about being the protector of Europe. Trump has long shown his disdain for how much money we pour into European defense for in his opinion nothing in return. While he wasn’t able to deeply impact treaties and alliances during his 2016 administration, he started his 2024 one-off swinging.

Analysis: The core of this story is that Palestinians as a people are open to negotiation and peace. Sadly, getting there as always will be difficult in part due to a leadership vacuum within the state. While over 40% of Palestinians state they prefer no current political party, the next most popular polling option was Hamas with 30%. The Palestinians want peace and representative leadership above all. The war which decimated not only their physical state but also their political state may not let them achieve those goals.

In Other News…

• Iran’s energy crisis reaches a new peak with disruptions causing significant problems for both individual households and industries from manufacturing to education. This story though highlights a greater message, Israel’s war throughout the Middle East is working and is more successful than it could have ever hoped. Israel laid major blows to Iran’s gas transportation infrastructure and additional energy infrastructure. From Palestine to Iran, to Syria, and beyond, Israel with the support of the West is drastically reshaping the Middle East, and the effects will take years to fully understand.

• It’s incredible, every single week there is a new corruption headline coming out of New York City. From the mayoral office with Eric Adams to the NYPD and beyond corruption is seeping. Is this a sign that good and significant changes are being brought to NYC and the corrupt are being pushed out, or is it a sign that in recent years corruption has hit an all-time high and the pieces are finally falling apart?

• The Supreme Court’s approval ratings have been taking a nosedive as divisive opinions and reports of bribery and ethical violations continue to be released every few months, targeting mainly conservative judges but also highlighting violations from democrat judges as well. This report coming out of Congress showcases the lengths justices have gone to underreport their gifts and bribes received and also their unwillingness to change the ethical rules of the Supreme Court to bar circumstances like this happen. If you were receiving millions in gifts would you want to stop that? One can be confident with the Trump administration coming in and the House and Senate in republican hands we won’t be seeing reform anytime soon.

• A back-and-forth narrative on the effectiveness, or danger, of unregulated and unsupervised addiction recovery programs and housing. The moral of the story falls to the fact that there has been a ballooning of government funds for addiction recovery and affordable housing pushed by the left. But often with that increased funding does not come increased oversight, leaving many programs and government funding ripe for abuse and embezzlement. We so often see backlash to these programs aimed at helping the addicted or homeless, because of their ineffectiveness. These programs are necessary, and the money set aside for these programs is necessary, but they will only work if we make the oversight and regulation necessary and effective too, or else we’re simply left with grifters.

• From drug overdoses, to car fatalities, to obesity, to violent crime, American is witnessing a stark decrease. The explanations why are far from agreed upon. In each field experts are offerings varying reasons why from increased public funding to niche policy changes. But one thing is clear, to at least me, COVID ruined people, psychically but more importantly mentally as a society. Now that we’re past that hump, life is seemingly returning to normal and with it greater health outcomes for Americans.

• Multiple high-profile universities across the country are warning their international students to return back to campus before Trump assumes office. This warning comes in preparation for a new possible travel ban similar to the “Muslim ban” Trump put in place during his last presidency.