The Empire Strikes Back

No one I know is more insightful about history and politics than my dad (who had firsthand experience with some of the twentieth century’s most brutal turns), and he’s been saying for months that as Trump gets cornered, he will lash out in increasingly dangerous ways. Well, he’s cornered. And the danger is here. From the NYT: Justice Dept. Is Said to Open Criminal Inquiry Into Its Own Russia Investigation. “The opening of a criminal investigation is likely to raise alarms that Mr. Trump is using the Justice Department to go after his perceived enemies.” (If you think this is no big deal, you’re in a deep state of denial.)

+ By design, there are too many words and tweets to keep up with. But sometimes, it’s worth pausing to take note of a phrase. The New Yorker: On ‘Human Scum’ and Trump in the Danger Zone. “The President’s ‘human scum’ tweet bears noting. First of all, it is quite simply the language of tyrants and those who aspire to be tyrants. Hitler called his enemies human scum, and so did Stalin.”

+ “Days after Donald Trump mused about cancelling White House subscriptions for the two newspapers in a Fox News interview, his administration is now reportedly advising federal agencies to do the same.” (Cancelling newspaper subscriptions for federal agencies may seem minor in the grand scheme of the many schemes, until you realize it follows the exact bootsteps of authoritarian governments.)

+ “A gesture meant to be a show of solidarity by senators has instead become a sign of the weakness of the president’s position.” The Atlantic: Donald Trump Has a Big Problem in the Senate. Here’s the latest impeachment news from CNN.

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