MHD

When you solve for the wrong problem, not only do you not get the solution, you can cause harm. The President wasted water that was being saved for farmers for a PR stunt.

This was harmful, ludicrous, and solved nothing.

👀👀

www.404media.co/things-are-g...

Murphy: "This is a constitutional crisis that we are in today. Let's call it what it is."

Elon Musk’s Bureaucratic Coup Welcome to the “rapid unscheduled disassembly” of the United States government.

I wrote about Musk and this bureaucratic coup as plainly as I could. There's reporting in here & the particulars are overwhelming but what's happening is so clear: He's not trying to run the federal govt like a software company He's trying to turn it into a political weapon. (gift link)

Feeling extra appreciation for my elected today! #MarylandStrong

Trump will argue that these were necessary to put American interests first, and people will believe it. Meanwhile, the profiteers will profit bigly.

In India, Modi orchestrated one of the biggest and most consequential efforts called demonization that led to significant disruptions and pain across the country, but with his story that it was a sacrifice for the greater good of anti- corruption, he faced almost no resistance.

It was not inflation per se that made people turn to Trump— it was that there was no narrative or story from the Biden administration that helped people make sense of it.

If anyone thinks MAGA will turn against Trump because of higher prices due to tariffs, think again.

open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p...

German Opposition Gambles With Far-Right on Immigration, and Loses Friedrich Merz and his Christian Democrats broke a political taboo by working with the hard-right Alternative for Germany to toughen rules on immigration. It did not pay off.

In an effort to portray himself and his party as tough on immigration, Friedrich Merz, the leader of the poll-leading Christian Democrats, pushed a series of measures tightening borders and accelerating deportations through Parliament this week. He did so with help from the hard-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD — parts of which have been classified as extremist by German intelligence agencies. On Friday, the gambit ended in a crushing legislative defeat for Mr. Merz, dissent in his own party and jubilant claims of new legitimacy from the AfD, a chain reaction that could rattle Mr. Merz’s comfortable seat at the top of the polls. Mr. Merz’s willingness to rely on support from the AfD, broke a taboo in German politics that had endured since the end of World War II.

Lessons to be learned:

1. Centrists align with far-right to look tough on immigration
2. Centrists gain nothing
3. Far-right wins more power

i think it is important to say that the open and explicit racism of the president and the vice president isn’t just uncouth or “controversial” but a direct attack on tens of millions of americans and a dereliction of their duty to represent the entire country

But Obama followed the rules. These guys’ strategy is to bypass congress altogether.

Democrats need to make short videos that are not fundraising trawls. No one will listen to you if every communication they come across is for fundraising.

ICE raided Newark business without a warrant and detained some U.S. citizens, mayor says - NJ.com

Back on the grind tomorrow

Everyone should understand the strategy in the release of the J6 criminals: to create a violent cadre of loyal followers who owe everything to the Leader.

The main issue at stake in Pete Hegseth’s confirmation: would he follow an illegal order from Donald Trump to deploy the military against the civilian population? Yes, he would. He is beholden to his Leader, not the constitution. This is, in fact, the only reason Hegseth has been nominated.

Opinion | As a Climate Scientist, I Knew It Was Time to Leave Los Angeles (Gift Article) After the Bobcat fire, the area no longer felt safe.

www.nytimes.com/2025/01/10/o...